Missing cat gives owners surprise of their lives returning home - after three years

A missing cat has given his owners the surprise of their lives after returning home three years after going missing.

Rescue cat Jack went missing in 2021 after he slipped out following a house move within Tetbury, Gloucestershire, by husband and wife Alex and Ian Rose. 

Alex, 78, said she “nearly fainted” after receiving a call that Jack,15, had been brought into Blue Cross’s rehoming centre in Burford, after being found 24 miles away in Lechlade.

After the first year, Alex had lost hope she would ever see her feline friend again and hoped if he had “died that it had been quick and he hadn’t suffered”. 

She said: “Jack was always shy. When we first met him I walked up to his pen and he put his paws up and I put my paws up too. The lady at the rescue said he had never done that before and was usually very standoffish. He chose us. We brought him home and he lived with us and we loved him.

“We kept him in as we had just moved house and we assumed he was under the bed as that was one of his favourite spots to hide away, but then we realised he must have managed to get out while everything was being unpacked.

"We looked everywhere, put callouts on social media and handed out fliers. Our new neighbours were wonderful and were also on the lookout, but after a while we just assumed Jack had probably been killed by a fox or knocked over.

“After three years to be told he’d been found and was alive it was quite shocking, almost unbelievable. I did feel faint. And longed to go immediately to see him. But Blue Cross felt he should be first seen by their vet and given a night’s rest. They were correct. 

"He’s in good health now, though a very old man. We, and our vet, are determined that his final few years or months, however long he has, will be as comfortable and healthy as possible. He loves his special food. Sleeps on our bed with his friend Ted. Goes in and out of the garden. Though still very thin his coat is glossy and he loves to be cuddled.”

Jack was brought into the care of Blue Cross, along with Ted, a black companion cat, who wasn’t microchipped.

When the team at the charity scanned Jack that they found he was microchipped to Alex and called her in January. Ted’s owner had sadly died so Alex and Ian decided to take him in too, who is also now microchipped.

Blue Cross Pet Loss Support service has been helping owners who have lost a pet for 30 years.

Diane James, Head of Pet Loss Support at Blue Cross, said: "Not knowing where your pet is is similar to the death of a pet, except when they go missing or are stolen there is no closure.

“Our Pet Loss Support team takes many calls from devastated owners who are struggling to cope after a pet has gone missing or been stolen and also give advice to help their children, who can be particularly upset.”