Cat lost for a year found a block away from home

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A cat missing from a Providence home for a year has been returned to its owners after being found only about a block away.

The Providence Journal reports the cat was returned Wednesday after being picked up by a group that spays and neuters strays. The group, called PawsWatch, caught the cat Sunday and discovered it had a microchip.

The microchip gave them the email of Tiffany Ragan, who said the cat, named Lucy, had disappeared after slipping out while the family dogs were being let outside.

A PawsWatch volunteer said the cat had been one street over, near a house that provides food and shelter for free-roaming cats.

Ragan’s 8-year-old son, Payton, said the cat seemed more cautious and “not as feisty as she used to be.”