A much-loved family cat missing for 11 years has been reunited with his owner after being spotted on a Facebook page.
Marauding moggy Ziggy went missing in 2011 as a one-year-old kitten – leaving owner Ruth Orme devastated.
After initial searches proved unsuccessful, Ruth said they had long given up hope of seeing him alive again.
But after pictures of him were posted on Facebook, a vet carried out a microchip check and he was brought back home.
Ruth, of Royston, Herts, said: ‘On Sunday, my ex had a phone call from a microchip database saying someone had found our cat.
‘He went out one day as usual back in 2011, and never came back. We’d had him just under a year, he was fully grown.
‘We posted flyers throughout the town, went out night after night shaking food and following sightings but had no luck.’
Time went on and the chances of Ziggy returning began to dwindle but, despite the length of his absence, it turned out he hadn’t strayed far from home.
‘Apparently some lads had found him on Royston industrial estate, around a 20 minute walk from where he went missing,’ explains Ruth.
‘He’d been there a few days so was fed and a video was posted on a Facebook Royston reporting page, before a lady from a rescue group came out to pick him up and had his microchip scanned. This resulted in the call to us.
‘He was returned Monday, looking in great shape with a few signs he’d been outside a while.’
After more than a decade away, it was anyone’s guess whether Ziggy would be the same cat the family had known.
However, Ruth says: ‘He hasn’t changed much at all and we’re obviously in shock – super grateful he’s back home.
‘He looks the same, and his temperament hasn’t changed. He still loves a cuddle.’
‘We can’t tell if he recognises us because he was always such a friendly cat, but he’s been sitting on our laps and purring happily,’ Ruth continued. ‘I really hope he settles back in.’
Although little is known about Ziggy’s time away, he was in good health when he was rescued, leading Ruth to believe he was living as a stray but being fed by several local households.
Ruth got a new cat – Freddie – but said she never forgot about Ziggy. The pair have met, but apparently ‘don’t seem too fussed about each other, which is a good thing.’
‘After a couple of years, I had given up hope,’ adds the doting owner. ‘It was a miracle – and it’s like he’s never been away.’
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