Germany Cat Napping Row Settled

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A cat napping row has been settled in Germany after legal experts ruled that a cat lost 16 years ago was the property of its new owners--and not the original owner.

Orange Tomcat Poldi, 17, was originally owned by Monika Moser who had him for a year and had even tattooed her details on the pet in case he got lost.

But after a year he vanished--and turned up 20 miles away in the garden of another family who fed him and then took him into the local vets. But the vet had failed to unravel the mystery of the tattoo--and because the cat had now owner it was officially adopted by 9its new family.

But 16 years later he vanished again--and this time turned up another 15 miles away on a woodpile in the backyard of the home of Kilian Schott, 19. He took him to an animal sanctuary in Munich where manager Eve Kosenback was able to track the original owner.

They were contacted and amazed to find Poldi still alive after so much time.

But the media attention around the pet also allowed the second owner who described the cat as a much loved member of the family.

The second family who live in Glonn said they had named their pet Burli. Hans Schmid said, "We found him in 1996 and he's lived with us for 16 years. Two weeks ago he suddenly vanished and we have no idea how he ended up 15 miles away. We are just glad he's back home. My 85-year-old mother in particular had missed him as well as my wife and kids."

The original owner--now a successful businesswoman--has been allowed visiting rights and is set to visit them shortly for the first visit in 16 years.