After a year, a cat missing from its Coral Springs home finds his way back to his owner

Coral Springs, Florida – Only 10 streets from where he disappeared, a cat that had been missing from his Coral Springs home for almost a year was discovered in perfect health last week.

Taco was found in the yard of a local cat enthusiast. He was a six-year-old tuxedo cat with a noticeable half-mustache over his mouth. He managed to survive being “beat up” by other cats there.

In June of last year, an internet appeal was made in an attempt to locate the amiable, trustworthy tuxedo.

“My daughter’s fur baby is missing! He is terribly loved,” Liz Friel wrote of her daughter Sienna’s cat in a June 2023 PawBoost alert.

On June 1, 2023, Taco was last spotted in the vicinity of Northwest 116th Avenue and Coral Ridge Drive in the Country Club neighborhood.

It transpires that Taco had remained near his residence throughout his abduction. After making it through a journey across Sample Road, he spent six to eight months being roughed up by the cats in the neighboring yard.

Taco, according to the homeowner who looks after the animals, deserved a fresh start in a secure environment. In an attempt to find Taco a home, she posted a help request online.

Hope Gold, a cat rescuer, caregiver, adoptive, and founder of the nonprofit Castaways Animal Rescue Effort, took the call. On Saturday, Gold got Taco from the yard, took him to the vet to get vaccinated, and started getting him ready for adoption.

But first, Gold tracked down Taco’s original owners using her pet chip scanner. As it happened, the implanted technology was unregistered, despite the fact that he was microchipped.

That didn’t deter Gold, though, as she collaborated with county authorities to trace the chip to the owners of Taco, 13-year-old Sienna Friel and her family, who obtained Taco from a Coral Springs PetSmart in 2018.

The girl’s father, Dennis Friel, an artist from Coral Springs, answered when Gold called.

“I told him, ‘I have your cat,’ and he called me immediately and said, ‘he’s been missing a long time,’” Gold said.

“I sent him a picture, and he freaked out,” she continued. “He called his wife and his wife called me and said, ‘that’s amazing. It was almost a year he’s been missing.’”

Gold and Sienna were scheduled to meet at PetSmart by Liz Friel, an artist as well. There, in a moment fit for a Hallmark film scenario, the mother and daughter were reunited with Taco.

“They were thrilled, they were crying,” Gold said. “They just couldn’t believe it. [Taco] remembered his other kitty siblings and doggy, and it was all kumbaya.”

Taco will now stay indoors; earlier, he had lived both inside and outside the Friel residence.
Following the reunion, Liz Friel wrote the following on her blog:

“Taco has been found and he is home safe and happy! Almost 1 year our handsome quirky fur baby was lost. Even though we put up laminated flyers and posted on pet sites … he went way out of his territory. Thanks to a good Samaritan who called Hope Gold at Castaways Rescue and his microchip … he’s home again.”
Gold, who often sees cats suffer while living outdoors, was thrilled at Taco’s fairytale ending.
“It was really very gratifying because it doesn’t always end that way,” Gold said.