Deaf cat missing six weeks in England alerts rescuers with loud yowls 170 miles from home

A deaf cat's booming yowls helped rescuers find her six weeks after she disappeared from her home in England.

Quinn, who had learned to call loudly when she wanted to be let indoors, made herself heard at roadside services roughly 170 miles from her home, the BBC reported.

Here's what to know

Quinn was found scavenging near trash cans at the A1 services in Peterborough. 

The white, eight-year-old cat had disappeared from her home in St Helens, Merseyside, and apparently then hitched a ride in a van or truck.

Cat Attwell, a service station employee and volunteer with the Facebook group Peterborough's Lost Pets, located Quinn after her cries alerted staff. 

Attwell tried to call out to the cat without initially realizing she was deaf.

"I was calling her, but of course I didn't know she was deaf," Attwell recalled. "She was very nervous, but eventually she came to me and let me pick her up. She was so loving."

More background

Quinn's family has had her since she was a kitten, and she was born completely deaf.

Quinn learned to get outside by following another household cat through the microchip-operated flap, despite her owners having kept her indoors. She sometimes found herself unable to get back in.

"She developed a very loud yowl to alert us she wanted to come back in," one of her owners explained. "The neighbors would sometimes complain about the noise."

Her owner suspects that Quinn climbed into a vehicle after escaping while work was being carried out at the residence. 

Before her disappearance, she rarely went beyond the yard. Peterborough's Lost Pets administrator Jules Murray thought Quinn's grubby appearance could mean she had ridden in an engine compartment. 

Murray is an administrator for Peterborough's Lost Pets and also volunteers at Woodgreen Pets Charity.

What's being done?

Quinn's owner made an eight-hour round trip to bring her home. 

Before that reunion, Quinn was scanned and taken to Murray for care after Attwell found her. Quinn was happy to have a warm place to stay and some attention until she could return home.

Quinn was Murray's third cat rescue callout at the A1 services, per the BBC. Murray described the rescue as "another story to show the importance of chipping your pets."

"She's very vocal and very needy, but very much loved," Murray observed.

Fiona Cooke, Woodgreen's associate director for policy and impact, emphasized that identification was important — even for pets that usually stay close to home.

"Even cats who rarely venture outdoors can go missing, but this tiny piece of technology can make an enormous difference in reuniting a lost pet with the people who love them."

Where can I learn more?

Quinn's rescue is one of several cases of missing cats turning up in unexpected places. Other cats have been rescued from trees and car engines, or tracked down far from home.

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

• In Walsall, England, a cat survived eight hours trapped in a car engine.

• A diabetic cat from Texas crashed a bachelorette party and wound up in California.

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