Tattoo cat came back: 14 years later to its family

Fourteen years ago, the Kerger family's three-year-old orange tabby wandered away from their Lockport-area house.
Last week, she arrived at their new home in Winnipeg.
"We thought a fox got her," Ingrid Kerger said Monday. "She just disappeared. We put up posters but she was never returned."
The cat spent time both indoors and out. She was a wanderer, says Kerger.
The family has no idea how the cat spent her 14 years on the lam.
"If only she could talk, what a story," laughs Kerger.
Tiger Lily didn't track the Kergers down on her own, she had considerable help.
Ingrid Kerger made sure her cat was spayed and had an ear tattoo. The cat was essentially carrying ID.
That didn't help her get reunited with her family, not in 1996 and not after they moved to Winnipeg. The happy ending required the kindness of strangers.
Last week, Kerger got a call from the Oakbank Animal Hospital. They wanted to know if she'd ever lived in Lockport. A staff member had found an elderly tabby and checked her tattoo. That led them to Kerger's old address.
They then tracked her down in Winnipeg.
"I was just in shock when they called."
She sent her 23-year-old son, Richard, to claim Tiger Lily. He carried a picture of boy and cat taken when he was eight.
The clinic rescued Tiger Lily, gave her IV therapy for dehydration and took care of her until the family could be found.
Since she's been home, Tiger Lily is eating everything in sight.
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