Beloved family cat Texas returns home after a 2,000-mile adventure

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Only Shoto knows the true story of his extraordinary journey from Texas to Massachusetts.

The experiences of the skinny stray cat and the encounters he made along the way are mysteries that will forever fascinate. One thing’s for sure, though: pet owners are sleeping better tonight, reunited with their first family cat after a two-year search.

Nearly 2,000 miles separated Shoto from his family in Texas, who faced the unthinkable when their beloved cat disappeared during a brutal January cold snap.

Despite their best efforts, he was never found until the Dakin Humane Society in Springfield, Massachusetts, granted their deepest wish.

Shelter staff members were left in disbelief recently after a good Samaritan brought in a fragile cat in need of help. A microchip scanner chirped as it hovered over the cat’s implant.

It was Shoto.

When the area code for Dakin, Massachusetts came up on Shoto’s family’s phone, the cat’s owner almost dismissed it as a telemarketer or another spam call.

“Fortunately we have contacted”, said the shelter.

Without hesitation, the cat’s owner made plans to drive to Dakin, a 26-hour drive from Texas, to be reunited with their beloved Shoto.

“No one but Shoto will ever know how he got to Massachusetts,” the shelter said. “That adventure will forever remain his secret.”

The Dakin Humane Society said it was honored to reunite the family after such a long time apart, thanks to the amazing power of a microchip.

However, while microchips are invaluable for reuniting lost pets, the shelter said they are not a real-time tracking solution.

“Keeping your microchip’s contact information up-to-date is critical in case the unthinkable happens; your pet goes missing,” the shelter notes on its website.

You can visit the American Animal Hospital Association’s microchip database and start with your pet’s microchip number to find the company it is registered with. From there, you can contact that company to update a phone number, change in ownership, or an address.

“Microchips are useful pieces of technology,” the shelter said. “(They) help keep people and pets together and have been the reason countless families are reunited.”