Missing cat reunited with family after owner hears his meowing over the phone


During a call with her cat's vet, Rachael Lawrence heard a noise in the background that made her almost drop the phone.
It was meowing that sounded just like her family's other cat Barnaby, who went missing eight months ago from their home in Essex, England. Lawrence asked about the cat, and was told it was a stray that had been brought in. After hanging up, Lawrence couldn't stop thinking about the distinctive meow, and called back to ask more questions. "It was bugging me," she told BBC News.
Lawrence inquired if the cat had black fur with a white patch by one of its back feet, and after being told yes, she raced to the vet, with photos of Barnaby to show as proof that it was her feline. As soon as Barnaby was brought in the room, "I knew it was him," Lawrence said, and she began to cry. Her three children are delighted to have Barnaby home, and Lawrence said he's "more than happy to be picked up and cuddled."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Is the UK's two-party system finally over?
Today's Big Question 'Unprecedented fragmentation puts voters on a collision course with the electoral system'
By The Week UK
-
Escape to the Scottish countryside at Dunkeld House Hotel
The Week Recommends Roam, revive and relax at this luxury hotel in a wooded riverside Perthshire estate
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Liverpool's Anfield redemption: how did they do it?
Talking Point Arne Slot's blueprint and standout player performances guide the Reds to record 20th league title
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US