A missing cat was reunited with her family in Long Island, New York after using the doorbell camera in her owners’ house and calling out for “mom.”
Stefanie Whitley and her family lost their beloved cat after two weeks of moving to Mastic beach. Whitley said Lily is an indoor-outdoor cat and wasn’t familiar with her new surroundings yet and has been missing for nearly a week.
“It was very scary having her missing for days, especially knowing that she always responds,” Whitley said. “You can call her name and she comes out of nowhere. But this time it was different. It felt like forever when she was missing.”
According to Whitley, Lilly has a very straightforward personality. “When she wants love, she wants it. And when she doesn’t, don’t touch her,” she explained.
Whitley and her family kept looking for Lily for days and lost hope in finding their missing cat. However, on a Sunday night, they had the surprise of their life when their beloved cat found her way back home.
She was busy cleaning up in the kitchen while her fiancé Efrain Leandry was watching TV with their 5 kids. They were all astonished by the ring cam notification which appeared on all their gadgets including the TV.
It turned out Lily was on their doorstep, meowing loudly to get their attention. They all screamed “Oh my God, Lilly,” with immense disbelief. “The notification popped up, and it was Lily’s face. She reached up to touch the camera and yelled,” Whitley stated.
Another thing that amazed them was the way she was meowing. It sounded like she was mimicking the kids saying “mom.”
“The kids thought it was hysterical because the way she meowed it sounded like, ‘Mom.’ You could tell the difference from a regular meow,” said Whitley.
They all laughed and ran to the door to get their lovely cat back. Lily excitedly rushed inside the house, looking secure and relieved.
“She comes back the same exact way. She hops up on the railing in front of the camera and starts meowing for me.”
Whitley is so proud of Lilly for finding her way back home. She is also confident that the cat really knows how to trigger the doorbell camera since she has kept using it since their reunion. “Every time the doorbell camera goes off, she goes to the door or goes to the window,”
Whitley shared that they have a blended family and they all love animals. Lilly has a special place in their hearts as she was only a kitten when they adopted her.
Eight years ago, a firefighter rescued her and took her to a local veterinary clinic before she became a part of Whitley’s family.
Lilly’s video has gained a lot of attention online and amazed a lot of people, especially pet owners. Her video was first shared on a Ring Neighborhood app.
In the video, the short-haired gray cat tries to activate her family’s doorbell camera outside the house. She is meowing continuously until someone heads to the door to see her.
“We’ve been watching the news airing her video. You have to see her face when she sees herself on TV,” Whitley said. “If it hadn’t been for that notification that night, we wouldn’t have known she was there,” she added.
This experience did not only prove that cats are clever animals and that new technologies can help in many different situations. They can help save people and animals and can be used in cases of emergency.
This is also why Whitley encouraged other pet owners to install a doorbell camera and to not easily give up when their pets go missing.
