An elderly cat has been reunited with her family who gave up hope of ever seeing her again after she vanished more than 10 years ago. PHOTO BY SWNS
A cat has been reunited with her family after going missing for more than 10 years.
Whiskas vanished from Linda Ellerton’s garden one night in the summer of 2013.
Despite a search, Whiskas could not be found and Linda, 62, gave up hope of seeing her beloved pet again.
So she was stunned when she saw an RSPCA appeal on Facebook last month saying the black and white moggy had been found just miles away from her home.
A kind resident in Chilton Moor near Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, had spotted the cat living rough in his shed and had been feeding her scraps.
When she became unwell he took her to a vet who treated her and passed her onto the RSPCA in a bid to find her owner but she had an out-of-date microchip.
The animal charity posted an appeal for information on Facebook and Linda, who had moved away from the area, spotted it and got in touch.
Linda, who has moved to Newcastle, has been reunited with the now 16-year-old Whiskas.
She said: “When I saw the RSPCA Facebook post it mentioned the DH4 postal area where we’d lived and I thought it can’t possibly be Whiskas after all these years.
“I thought the photos looked like her, but it had been so long and we’d never thought we’d see her again.”
Linda had rescued Whiskas as a kitten after she was found abandoned under a hedge in Scotland in 2007.
She added: “We microchipped Whiskas when we lived in Gateshead after we rescued her and another cat as kittens.
“They both went on to have litters with most of the cats having since been rehomed.
“We’d moved (to Houghton-le-Spring) and we had a few cats at that point and she just disappeared.
“We thought she had found somewhere else to live when she didn’t come in one night.
“I’ve been in touch with the gentleman who found her, apparently she was living in his garden shed, and we can’t thank him and the RSPCA enough.”
Linda now owns a large dog so Whiskas will stay with her brother David Jeffrey.
Despite being unable underweight and in poor health when she was found, Whiskas has made a good recovery with.
RSPCA animal rescue officer David Dawson said: “It was pleasing that we were able to reunite Linda with Whiskas after all these years.
“She had a cuddle with her and it was very emotional to see.
“The family had given up hope of seeing the cat again, but fortunately, the man who had been feeding her for several months was so concerned about her condition that he managed to get her to a vet.
“It is important that owners keep microchip details up to date when they move home as it makes the task of reuniting them with their pets so much easier.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
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