A 14-year-old Siamese cat who had been lost for five years was found on the North Side and reunited with his owner on Friday.
With the help of a good Samaritan who found the cat and nonprofit Lost Dogs Illinois’ Microchip Hunters team, the cat’s owner, Spencer McCreery of Indianapolis, was located.
At first, McCreery couldn’t believe the Siamese cat was found. But when he talked with the North Side family who found the cat, who was registered as Binks but lovingly known to McCreery as Banks, he rushed to Chicago, driving through the dust storm Friday evening to reach his long-lost cat who recognized him right away.
“He immediately cuddled up onto me when they handed him to me and immediately just kind of nuzzled into me,” McCreery said.
McCreery and his ex-wife adopted the cat in Indianapolis in 2016. But when the two separated a year later and his ex-wife kept custody of Banks, McCreery lost touch with his beloved pet.
McCreery found out Banks had to be rehomed when his ex-wife moved out of state in 2020. Sometime after Banks was placed in a new home with a friend who lived in Chicago, he went missing.
“I mean, it’s been a long time, and he looks different, but it’s basically exactly the same as it was when we first got him,” McCreery said.
Shainy Peysin, of West Ridge, took Banks in after her 17-year-old daughter brought home the matted and distressed cat on May 13 after she found him near Devon Avenue and McCormick Boulevard while on a morning run.
“As she approached, she thought he would run away, but he stayed where he was and actually came up to her,” Peysin said. “She stopped [to] pet him and saw that he had a collar and was very skinny, had some knotted fur and was dirty, and she realized that he needed help.”
Peysin, who regularly fosters animals from shelters, gladly took on the responsibility. She brought Banks to the vet and immediately posted a photo of him on the Chicago Lost and Found Pets Facebook group to see if anyone could find his owner.
She had no luck finding the owner, but people in the comments recommended she register the cat’s microchip with the American Animal Hospital Association’s microchip registry and reach out to the Microchip Hunters with Lost Dogs Illinois.
The Microchip Hunters is a team of volunteers who research dead-end microchips, which can’t be easily traced back to owners.
The team was able to track down McCreery, who was still listed as Banks’ alternate owner, and contacted him a day after speaking with Peysin.
Jeanette Garlow, director of Microchip Hunters, said the team has about a 70% success rate and last year found close to 1,500 owners. The organization also helps animals in shelters find their old homes.
“Our volunteers really work hard and are very passionate about reaching families and our work does help alleviate the overcrowding in the shelters as well,” Garlow said.
Banks is now at home with McCreery, making a new friend and curling up with his dog. McCreery said Banks is still very skinny but he is doing well and seems happy to be home with him.
McCreery said last week he was making plans to look for an older cat to take care of, but it was like fate when the Microchip Hunters reached out to him.
“I got a text message like 24 hours after thinking about adopting a cat, and it was like ‘Hey, here’s a senior cat, and it’s yours,'” he said. “I don’t know if there’s such a thing as fate, but that’s got to be about as close to it as I’ve been in a long time.”