Sioux City cat found in poor condition over 8 hours away

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A Sioux City cat has been picked up in Illinois, with many asking “Whose cat is that?” Somehow, the cat made it over 8 hours away.

A microchip and an Illinois nonprofit are trying to get this cat back to its family.

”We’re still making every effort to reunite her with her family,” said Sarah Shipton, creator of Catty Shack, a nonprofit cat rescue in Hamel, Illinois.

An Illinois family found the cat wandering outside, and lethargic in a neighborhood. They thought she was dying because she wouldn’t eat, she was just laying there.

“And I said, take her to the emergency vet. Let’s get her checked out,” said Shipton.

The cat has been nicknamed “Iowa” to all her Facebook followers nationwide. Through the help of a microchip, they found out made she was from Sioux City, over eight hours away from where they found her.

“Linked to a rescue in Iowa. I called them in Sioux City, and they said, Yeah, that’s ours, and then they gave me the adopters’ name and info,” said Shipton.

Since the cat was found, Shipton has not been able to make contact with the owners.

She was microchipped at Sioux City’s Adopt and Rescue Center, but a microchip only does its job to a point. If it is registered and kept up to date with contact information.

Chris Hall with Sioux City’s Adopt and Rescue Center said, “Microchips are becoming more and more important, they got to a point where they are invaluable. So Simple to do. Literally, their weight is in gold. We’re hoping that those values will get better.”

They are one of the organizations in Iowa that can help chip your pet or update the personal contact information in your pet’s chip.

After calling the phone number on the chip, Shipton is still trying to find the cat’s owners. “I’ve called, messages, texted. No one’s gotten back to me,” said Shipton.

In the meantime, an Illinois vet and her family have taken “Iowa” into her home to care for her injuries heals and is on a feeding tube. Catty Shack has been raising money to help pay for her vet bills.

“Her ER bill was over $1,000 And we were able to get that paid because of our supporters. And to think that thousands and thousands of people care about what we do, and support us it’s just mind-blowing honestly,” said Shipton.

Catty Shack is fully run by volunteers and has helped 1,811 cats since 2017. Sioux City Animal Rescue says they can microchip any pet for $15.

Help us find the owners! If this looks like your cat and previously went by the name Chloe, contact Catty Shack on Facebook.

Enjoy this story? The playlist below shows other cat-related stories from across the nation.

Copyright 2023 KTIV. All rights reserved.