TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa native now living in Washington State will soon be reunited with the cat she thought she left in good hands two years ago, who was recently located as a stray.
- Pet Resource Center of Hillsborough paid for all vet bills
- Malaki will travel 3,000 miles on Southwest Airlines
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Jacyln Williams needed to move from Plant City to Washington State in 2017 and at the time was not able to take care of her Siamese cat, Malaki. But she thought she'd found a home for him.
“We found some friends that were willing to take him,' Williams told us.
Those friends adopted Malaki, and Williams didn't think anything further about the adoption until last week, when she received a message from a microchip company. They said they had Malaki and he'd been found as a stray.
Williams learned that the friends who had adopted her cat had moved to Texas, but there was no mention of Malaki's fate.
"Obviously, we failed him," Williams said.
In addition, veterinarians who examined Malaki discovered he'd developed a neurological disorder that made him a little wobbly when walking, greatly decreasing his chances of being adopted by someone else.
Hoping to give Malaki a home again but unsure how to bridge the distance, Williams said she reached out on social media, and eventually got in touch with Southwest Airlines Animal Transport, who will facilitate Malaki's long trip.
The Pet Resource Center of Hillsborough County is getting involved in the reunion. They paid for all of the cat's vet bills and coordinated with the airline to get the cat ready to travel.
“I think that 3,000 mile trip he is going to undergo will be the longest we’ve ever had,” said Pet Resource Center spokesperson Chrissy Leto. "Microchip your pets — this is an excellent example of that, from Florida to Washington State."
It's still unclear how Williams' friends lost Malaki, but Williams said she's excited to have him back.
Malaki's flight leaves Tuesday.