Missing elderly firehouse cat from Virginia found four miles from home

This is the happy ending story of an elderly firehouse cat who went missing in Rockingham County, Virginia and was later found.

Fred is the official “mascot” for McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Company. He’s a special part of the department (everyone knows cats are such good moral boosters) and has even been on calls with his firehouse family (accidentally, of course) since he was found by a paid fireman 18 years ago. Last Saturday Fred was nowhere to be found.

Jana Meadows found Fred miles away in Elkton, Virginia. He was sitting outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store looking very sad. Jana asked the clerk if she could take him home. In a September 2 interview with WHSV News Jana describes how she caught the lost kitty, who was about four miles from his home

“I asked her, ‘Is it okay if I take him with me?’ He looked so sad. So, I just scooped him up and stuck him in my car.”

Jana didn’t realize Fred already had a home until one of her friends showed her a post that Pam Monger, a volunteer with the fire department, had put on Facebook about Fred being lost. Jana is just glad he has a good home and that people are taking care of him. Pam said of Fred’s disappearance

“It was devastating because he’s been there so long, he’s part of the family.”

Pam hopes Fred will stick around for many more years. Cats do become a family member, even non-traditional families. Fred may have a different type of family, but he’s loved and cherished by a lot of people. Our thanks go out to McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Company for taking such good care of him.

Elisa