This is quite outing as many IRL people know this story, so name changed.
In spring for 2013, our cat went missing. She was only 2, was out in the garden when we left for the school run, came home and she never returned. I spent months trying to find her, my children then aged 10, 7 and 5 were devasted. My youngest cried herself to sleep every night for a month, my eldest would search our estate after school, we went anywhere there was a potential sighting, but found nothing. We had another cat who was incredibly bonded to the one that went missing. We still have that cat now, but could never replace the cat that went missing, instead we now have a house rabbit who is bonded to the cat we have. He is now 12 as we had them both as kittens, but from different litters.
Imagine my surprise yesterday when i got a call, that nearly 10 years later, my cat has been found! From what i can gather she was taken in as a stray by an older lady, who can no longer care for her, or the other cats she had, they were taken in by a charity, who had the cats scanned, which flagged my details as her microchip was still registered to me.
My children are over the moon, my now 15 year old daughter is beside herself and cannot wait to go and collect the cat - who is around 30 miles. But im worried, im worried for her coming into a home again if shes been a stray and bonded to other cats, im worried for my cat we have still, who has spent 10 years in a house without another cat, im worried how the missing cat will respond to the house rabbit and vice versa.
But i cant just not try. I gather from the charity that the cat is unwell, some kind of renal failure possibly, and that is something im willing to take on, and my children all understand that she may not have a whole lot of time left, but if she can live out her final days back in a home with people who love her and care for her, then thats what we will do.
But how do i go about reintroducing her, in a way that is going to be the least stressful for her, for my other cat, and the rabbit?
Any advice would be very gratefully received. Thank you