Students find cat's family through online post after she turns up 280 miles from home

A missing cat is back home in Glasgow after accidentally traveling 280 miles within the United Kingdom, thanks to students who tracked down her family's online missing pet post.

Here's what to know

Emily Caldwell, 34, and her husband searched their Glasgow neighborhood and put up flyers after their nine-year-old cat, Luna, disappeared on Oct. 9. They received no reports of sightings after she disappeared from their Shawlands home, according to Moneycontrol.

A college employee's return trip from Glasgow to Hull, Yorkshire, appears to explain how Luna traveled so far. The cat is believed to have climbed into the employee's van during the visit and made the journey without the driver noticing.

Students at the College for International Co-operation and Development gave Luna food and somewhere to sleep after finding her wandering around campus. The college is near Winestead, between Hull and the Yorkshire coast.

More background

Luna's family feared she had been in an accident as their search in Glasgow produced no sightings, even while the students were looking after her.

Luna was chipped, but unfortunately, Caldwell was not contacted even after the students' first veterinary visit and scan of that chip.

What's being done?

The students continued searching online and located Caldwell's post on the missing animal reporting platform PawBoost, according to Moneycontrol.

A second veterinary scan helped connect Luna's microchip identification with Caldwell's online post, confirming the cat's identity and ownership.

Caldwell's father traveled to collect Luna and bring her back to Glasgow after a student emailed Caldwell on Oct. 29. The message ended nearly three weeks of uncertainty about the cat's whereabouts.

By the time Luna arrived back at her family's Shawlands home on Oct. 31, she had been missing for 22 days. She had lost weight and a tooth but was otherwise in good condition.

Where can I learn more?

Online posts have helped other families reunite with their missing cats, too. 

• An Ohio woman reunited with her cat after six years when a post went viral.

• A diabetic Texas cat disappeared, crashed a bachelorette party, and wound up in California before being reunited with its owner.

• In Kent, a tree surgeon rescued a cat 50 feet up a tree.

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