Lost cat in Switzerland found 160 kilometres away from home
By Jan de Boer
Though we hope that our pets will move heaven and Earth to try and reunite with us, it can be impressive to see how far they can go astray: at the beginning of April, a lost cat in Switzerland was finally returned to its owner, after being found over 160 kilometres away.
Mimo: The Bernese cat found in St. Gallen
Our story starts in February 2025 in Bern, where a woman reported that her black cat called Mimo had gone missing. Sadly, for weeks Mimo couldn’t be found anywhere in the neighbourhood, and the owner had begun to worry that the tomcat was lost forever.
That was until, six weeks later and 160 kilometres away in the town of Wagen, Canton St. Gallen (near Rapperswil), Stéphanie noticed a black cat on her terrace. "He kept coming back for days. He always slept on the same chair…I thought he belonged to someone, so I didn't feed him," she told 20 Minuten.
Despite trying to shoo the cat away, the cat kept coming back to her home. "He didn't behave like a normal cat, When I was outside, he came straight to me. When I left, he almost grabbed my leg - once he even bit me," she noted, adding that to her, the cat was trying to ask for help.
Cat travelled over 160 kilometres across Switzerland
After trying the Swiss Animal Reporting Centre and various WhatsApp groups, Stéphanie decided to take the cat to the vet and have him checked for a microchip. It was then that they realised that the cat was Mimo, who had managed to cross at least four cantons in six weeks on his way to the southern tip of Lake Zurich.
After a night in an animal shelter, Mimo was returned to his owner in Bern. The Animal Rescue Service Foundation told 20 Minuten that “without [the microchip], Mimo would probably never have found his way home” as no one would be looking for a Bernese cat in St. Gallen.
As to how Mimo managed to travel so far, his owner told the newspaper that she suspected the cat hitched a ride in a hay bale being carried by a neighbouring farmer. When the cat went missing, the farmer was transporting the hay to the Circus Knie, which is headquartered in Rapperswil.
The real way Mimo managed to travel the breadth of the country, is his story to keep.
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more