A cat named Gus, missing since 2016, was recently discovered in Valhalla, almost 30km away from his original home in the east of Pretoria.

The unexpected discovery was made when he was taken to Wierdabrug Animal Hospital after he made himself at home with the Singh family in Valhalla.

The family was initially contemplating taking Gus in but decided that they had to be certain that no one else owned the cat. They took him to the animal hospital to have him checked for a microchip.

Ina Schutte, who works at the hospital, explains: “They told us that he just showed up at their house and that they were thinking of taking him in, but they wanted to check if he was microchipped. So we scanned him, and as it turns out, he was microchipped!”

Schutte says that they attempted to contact Gus’ owners through the associated phone number but received no response.

Eventually, they received a call back.

Schutte says she was amazed to find out that Gus had been missing for years.

“His owners believed Gus had been poisoned or taken and abandoned somewhere.”

The owner’s mother was relieved to hear that Gus was safe and well cared for and contact details were exchanged between the parties.

Gus’ new caretakers, Adhishri Singh and her daughter Khimyra, said they first met him at the beginning of the year as the friendly cat kept visiting them.

“Gus found us,” Adhishri says.

Initially, Gus made sporadic appearances, coming to their home every few months, seemingly like a neighbour’s cat.

However, by August, he began settling in.

Khimyra says he soon decided that he was part of the family.

“Then he was sleeping over. He came in and made himself comfortable. He took over our bed, settled on the sofa, and made himself at home.”

The Singhs grew concerned about Gus’ original owners and decided to have him checked for a microchip.

They were immediately saddened that Gus already had owners, but glad that he was found after so long.

“His original owner said that she couldn’t believe that we found Gus, and asked if they could come and pick him up,” says Adhishri.

“I told her she was welcome, but added that I was feeling a bit sad because we had grown so fond of him.

Strong bond formed with new owners

“She was so quick to say that we could keep him as we had formed a bond with him!”

Remarkably, despite his long adventure, Gus remains a gentle and loving cat, endearing himself to his new caregivers.

“I don’t know if he had someone looking after him in the meantime.

“We were very surprised. If he was a stray, he was still so gentle, he never scratched or bit,” says Adhishri.