Missing house cat reunited with owners FIVE YEARS after she vanished

Black and white puss Lucy bolted out of her owners' front door in 2014 leaving them devastated.

The Mirror reports that a long-lost kitty has been reunited with her owners, five years after she went missing. Microchipped indoor cat Lucy escaped out the front door in 2014, leaving Rachel Beecroft and her partner Michael Louth devastated. Rachel, 48, said: “She just bolted and we couldn’t find her anywhere. She was a very timid cat anyway so we think she was frightened to come in when we were calling her. “We had flyers made which we put up in the area and also posters and we put her details on the lost and found pet website - but there was no trace. “In 2017 I had to move across town but by then, in my heart of hearts, I never thought she’d return. I thought she had been run over by a car.” Rachel had adopted Lucy and her sister Lottie from the RSPCA’s cattery in Nantwich, Cheshire, in 2012. Lucy spent two happy years with her before she went missing. Although she was microchipped, the couple heard nothing - until this year. Rachel said: “Out of the blue I got a phone call from the RSPCA to say she’d been found and was fit and well. “I went straight to collect her and she knew instantly who I was - we shared lots of cuddles and love.” Lucy was picked up close to Rachel’s old home in Crewe and a cat lover took her to the RSPCA, thinking she was a stray. The charity found Rachel’s details from the cat’s microchip. “She seems well-looked after so I believe someone has taken her into their home,” Rachel said. “But I am so glad she is back where she belongs with her sister and our border collie Harry.” Lee Stewart, RSPCA centre boss, said: “We’ve had cats reunited with owners after they’ve been missing a few months but the fact Lucy was missing for five years was a surprise. “It highlights why microchipping is important and it is vital to tell the chip company if contact details change.” It is a legal requirement to have dogs microchipped but not cats. The process involves a tiny microchip quickly inserted under the skin with a code that can be matched to a database.

(Story source: Manchester Evening News)