A new tool is helping families reunite with their missing pets, and it's all thanks to artificial intelligence technology. 

A North Texas woman feels grateful for it. Pam Kinnett and her beloved cat were reunited after he went missing for more than 100 days.

"We were just unloading our groceries right here in the garage," Kinnett said. "He must have just scooted right out and down the alley."

Grayson, a senior cat, vanished from his Plano home on that hot summer day.

Search efforts turn up nothing

"We kind of panicked it and went up and down the street. We went everywhere looking for him and put signs out and didn't hear anything," Kinnett said. "We just kind of gave up, and I just hoped he had a good home somewhere."

Kinnett posted Grayson's photo on Petco Love Lost, a missing pet website, and she got surprising news 103 days after the feline's disappearance.

"They said, 'I think we have your cat,'" Kinnett said.

AI photo matching makes the connection

The photo Kinnett uploaded matched with one that a Good Samaritan, Missy, posted. Petco Love chief technology officer Shannon Cronin said the AI technology analyzes factors such as fur length and color, age, and size.

"It's using image recognition technology or vector databases to do this," Cronin said.

The technology looks for similarities in patterns and uses an algorithm to determine the probability of the two photos being of the same pet.

"There's a spot maybe on the shoulder of the dog or on the front of the dog. The technology can find other patterns that match that and give a higher score to that. We use a scoring system in the back end to say, 'Hey, we're pretty confident that this is a match or this one is definitely not a match,'" Cronin said.

Thousands of reunions each week

Petco Love Lost is offered in the United States and Canada, and it's already seeing significant success.

"We're averaging about 2,000 up to 2,500 direct pet reunions per week currently," Cronin said.

Kinnett feels thankful to be one of those reunions and that Grayson is okay.

"He had lost 10 pounds. He had been on the run," Kinnett said. "Petco mentioned like he was dodging coyotes. We have a lot of coyotes and bobcats in our area."

A happy ending for the holidays

Kinnett adopted the cat with a taste for adventure as a kitten.

"He's been a family member. He's 11 years old and been with us and just stayed with us the whole time," Kinnett said.

It's technology being used for good as the cat with nine lives starts a new chapter safely indoors for the holidays.

Petco Love Lost is free to use. Right now, it's just for cats and dogs, but the nonprofit is working on technology to add additional species, including birds, horses, reptiles and more.