Cat reunited with owner after seven years

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cheyenne, a cat that vanished in Florida seven years ago and was recently found wandering the streets of San Francisco, has been reunited with her owner.

Pamela Edwards was flown to San Francisco Wednesday at Ellen DeGeneres' expense to pick up her pet at the city's Animal Care and Control department. Edwards and her daughter then went to Los Angeles to tape a future episode of DeGeneres' show.

"Ellen is a huge animal lover," said Michelle Gross, a spokeswoman for the talk show host. "When she heard about this woman being separated from her cat, she just wanted to help reunite her and have her on the show."

Edwards adopted the black short-haired cat from animal shelter in Bradenton, Fla., in 1997. The cat disappeared a few months later.

Earlier this month, Edwards got a call from San Francisco, where city workers had scanned Cheyenne's implanted microchip and learned she belonged to Edwards, 2,800 miles away in Florida.

How did the cat make such a journey?

"Possibly, someone found her in Florida," said Deb Campbell, spokeswoman for Animal Care and Control. "Or sometimes cats get stuck in moving vans. We know she didn't walk here -- her feet looked pretty good."