When Mindy and Luke Criner adopted a shy little kitten from Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter in Virginia, they knew he just needed love to blossom. While the other kittens wrestled and played, he sat quietly to the side — but Mindy saw the spark in his eyes.
“You could see he just needed a family,” she said.
They named him simply Cat. With patience, Cat came out of his shell and soon adored every member of the household. When the couple welcomed a baby, Cat doted on him immediately. Life felt complete.
But Cat also loved exploring outdoors. One afternoon, after one of his usual adventures, he didn’t come back.
Mindy and Luke searched desperately. They posted flyers, put his litter box and food outside to lure him home, built little shelters across the neighborhood, and walked the streets every night calling his name. Volunteers from the Lost & Found Pets – Hampton Roads Facebook page helped spread the word.
Still, days stretched into weeks. Weeks into months. Then a year. Hope dimmed.
“Every day that crack in my broken heart got a little bigger,” Mindy admitted.
Then, 536 days later, came the call she never expected: Animal control had Cat.
“I thought it had to be a mistake,” she said. But when she rushed to the shelter, tears in her eyes, the story unfolded.
A kind man had been feeding Cat, believing he was a stray. After Cat was struck by a car and miraculously survived, animal control was called. They scanned for a microchip — and discovered Cat’s real family.
Mindy drove straight to the man’s house. There, on the porch, was Cat, casually having a snack. The moment their eyes met, the distance of nearly two years vanished.
“I sat on the steps and let him come to me,” she recalled. “He climbed right in my lap and purred.”
When Luke spoke, Cat recognized his voice instantly and pressed his head into Mindy’s chest with a long, deep boop — as if sealing the reunion and healing her heart.
Back home, Cat settled in like he’d never left, reclaiming his favorite spots and reconnecting with his furry siblings. These days, his family showers him with love, grateful for every cuddle and purr.
Mindy hopes their story inspires others never to give up on lost pets — and reminds people who find animals to check for a microchip.
“Because maybe,” she said, “another family will get to feel the overwhelming joy we’re experiencing right now.”
