Help solve the mystery of Larry the layby cat

The RSPCA received a call on Wednesday, April 23, about the cat that had apparently been abandoned. The caller reported he had seen the cat for about a month at the same layby in Turvey.

Cat abandonment is a not an unusual situation - but what is unusual is the amount of information they have about the cat because of the microchip the size of a grain of rice inserted beneath its skin. This gives the pet their own unique code.

The microchip can be scanned and matched to the owner’s contact details, which are kept on a database - yet they still can’t find this cat.

Staff have called him Mr Gorgeous but he has been nicknamed by his friends Lay-by Larry.

What we do know is that Lay-by Larry is a brown mackerel tabby with a white bib. He has a distinctive brown spot on his nose. He was born in 2005 and was originally microchipped in St Neots and registered to an address in Potton.

RSPCA staff tried to call the landline for the address but it was disconnected. Eventually they managed to speak to his original owner on their mobile phone. However, Lay-by Larry’s original owners had apparently re-homed him early last year.

At this point, the society’s detective work ground to a halt as they did not have any further contact details and Larry’s microchip had not been updated with his new owner’s informatation.

Lay-by Larry is a fantastic cat who is extremely friendly and loving. He acts as if he has been well loved and cared for. He’s also clearly worn a collar at some point. It may be that his new owners are frantically searching for him as you read this.

If his owner doesn’t claim him, Lay-by Larry will be put onto the RSPCA website and will hopefully be re-homed. However, this will come at a cost to the charity, and a lot of unnecessary distress for Lay-by Larry.

Can our army of loyal readers help us solve the mystery of the lovely Lay-by Larry?

If you can, please contact the RSPCA Bedforshire North Branch on 01234 266965 or go to www.rspca.org.uk/local/bedfordshire-north-branch