Avishka Kaumadi’s cat went missing on October 11 and was found 10 days later.
“You want to see?”
A delighted Avishka Kaumadi turns on the video, showing us her fluffy ginger cat sitting on her lap in the car as they head to the vet for a check-up.
After 10 days of anxiety and sleepless nights, Kaumadi’s ordeal is finally over. Her cat, who went missing at Dubai International Airport, is now back with her in Sri Lanka.
“When I went up to him and spoke to him, he answered me in his own voice,” an overjoyed Kaumadi told Gulf News shortly after their reunion.
The relief is overwhelming. Chuuti, who went missing at Dubai International Airport on October 11, will soon be home. Kaumadi has been sending us photos from the car: Chuuti gazing out of the window, then curled up and soaking in all the cuddles he had missed.
“He is doing very well and seems very happy. He recognised me,” she said, barely able to contain her joy.
But the ordeal has taken a toll on Chuuti. “Poor thing, he has lost weight because he hasn’t been eating. We are on our way now to take him to the doctor for a check-up. He got very dirty down in the baggage area at Terminal 1. He is very happy now,” Kaumadi said.
Overjoyed to have Chuuti back, Kaumadi struggled to put into words what the reunion meant to her. She expressed her gratitude to the officers who helped her and the many animal rescue communities that kept watch for him. For days, UAE animal rescue platforms, including @UAEanimalrescue, had shared posts about Chuuti and appealed for information about his whereabouts.
As Kaumadi later wrote in a Facebook post addressed to her cat: “You had the entire Dubai looking out for you.”
The exact details of how and where Chuuti was found are not yet available.
‘A piece of my heart’
The reunion marks the end of an agonising 10-day search for Kaumadi, who had earlier shared the depth of her bond with Chuuti on social media.
“Chuuti is not just a pet to me. He is my beloved child, my family, and a piece of my heart. The days without him have been among the most painful of my life,” she wrote in an earlier Facebook post.
After Chuuti was found, Kaumadi thanked SriLankan Airlines, dnata and Dubai International Airport for their efforts in locating him.
“Today, I am grateful that my beloved Chuuti has been found. Words cannot fully express the emotions I feel,” she wrote, as she awaited his return to Sri Lanka.
She also thanked everyone who had shared her appeals, offered words of encouragement and supported her throughout the search.
“Every prayer, every message, every phone call, and every word of kindness gave me strength when I felt like I had none left,” she wrote.
How Chuuti went missing at Dubai airport
Kaumadi was scheduled to fly from Dubai to Sri Lanka at 11pm on October 11, with Chuuti travelling as air cargo.
In her earlier account to Gulf News, she said she had completed all the necessary documentation, payments and inspection procedures before her cat was returned to his carrier.
However, after passing through immigration, she received a call informing her that Chuuti had escaped from his carrier.
Kaumadi immediately sought permission to return and help search for him.
“I clearly told him that I would not board the flight without my cat,” she recalled.
She then spent more than an hour searching the cargo area with a staff member, calling out to Chuuti in the hope that he would respond. The search was unsuccessful, and she remained at the airport for approximately 28 hours, waiting for news.
She later returned to follow up on the search before eventually travelling to Sri Lanka, where she continued to await updates.
According to Kaumadi, airport staff continued looking for Chuuti and placed food in various areas in the hope of luring him out of hiding.
After 10 days of uncertainty, Kaumadi finally received the news she had been hoping for: Chuuti had been found, was safe and could soon be reunited with her.
