Sam Sam The Kittycat Man is Gone!

Or is he?

“He was found on the streets scouring for scraps before being brought in and scanned.”

10 million. 10 million cats or dogs go missing in the US annually. Of those pets, less than 23% are reunited with their owners. Most are recovered within 5 days. But after 90 days of relentless searching with no sign of them there’s almost no hope of finding them alive. 

This is exactly what happened to Jennifer Ravenel. Her dearest companion, Sam Sam the Kittycat Man ran away 11 years ago. So torn and anguished, she never held another cat in her lap ever since that fateful day he was spooked by a dog and vanished into thin air. 

August 21st. A call came from Charleston County Animal Control informing her that her missing cat was found. Of course this must be some cruel joke, a prank call trying to stir up a reaction. Sam wasn’t here, he was missing. After all that frantic digging, desperately trying to find a single clue around the entire neighborhood, surely there was no way he was found within a mile’s radius, right? Fortunately, no, it was not a prank.

This was real, and not only was Sam alive, he was finally coming home. All thanks to a tiny microchip. A device smaller than a grain of rice was the cause for this miracle. But how exactly do these radio-frequency identification transponders work? 

When stray animals are found, they are taken to get scanned for an address. The scanner sends radio waves which activates the chip enclosed in a tiny glass cylinder. Owners get these implanted into their pets by injecting a hypodermic needle, a hollow point that is firmly attached to a syringe. It is also crucial that the microchip is actually registered and up to date or else the data won’t register on the screen. All of this is what led to a pet reuniting with its owner after eleven years of heart wrenching separation.

This emotional reunion was caught on camera as Ravenel eagerly embraced her now found cat in a heartfelt moment. Witnesses call this a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

“It’s the craziest thing that has ever happened to me,” Ravenel exclaimed excitedly to the Animal society. 

Vets and doctors strongly encourage everyone to microchip their pet. In fact, May is actually National Chip Your Pet Day, a whole month dedicated to this very cause. I bet Sam thinks he deserves all the catnip and chicken he craves every single day this entire month.

He was found on the streets scouring for scraps before being brought in and scanned. Now half his original weight, Ravenel states that Sam Sam the Kittycat Man likes to stay by the foot of her bed and never ever goes near the door. Although his weight may have changed his white pelt and chocolate dipped paws remained the same, happily in his owner's lap. 

“I searched and searched the woods. I asked everybody that lived around us, and nobody saw him. But he’s a survivor,” she confidently claims. 

Ravenel continues to tell all the workers and friends of this delightful miracle. 

Works Cited

Barnes, Courtney. “​​Microchipping Your Cat.” VCA, https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/microchipping-your-cat#:~:text=with%20their%20families.-,Cats%20with%20microchips%20were%20found%20to%20be%20more%20than%20twenty,or%20letter%20from%20the%20finder.

Collins, Jeffery. “Sam Sam the Kittycat Man ran away. Thanks to a microchip, he was found close by — 11 years later.” AP News, https://apnews.com/article/cat-reunion-sam-kittycat-man-b06b433f5f395bb9848a8e5ac136d6a2#.

Jeffries, Lauren. “​​Odds of Finding a Lost Cat After a Week: Breaking Down the Stats.” PetRadar, https://www.petradar.org/en/articles/odds-of-finding-a-lost-cat-after-a-week-breaking-down-the-stats.

“Once-In-A-Lifetime Joy Caught on Video in Microchip Reunion for ‘Sam Sam the Kitty Cat Man.” ColeAndMarmalade, https://coleandmarmalade.com/2024/08/17/once-in-a-lifetime-joy-caught-on-video-in-microchip-reunion-for-sam-sam-the-kitty-cat-man/.

“Microchipping FAQ.” AVMA, https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/microchips-reunite-pets-families/microchipping-faq.

“US Missing Pet Epidemic and Euthanasia.” Peeva, https://peeva.co/blog/missing-pet-epidemic-facts-and-figures/.

“What are the chances of finding a lost cat?” Emotional Pet Support, https://www.emotionalpetsupport.com/what-are-the-chances-of-finding-a-lost-cat/.