Toby was just 18 months old went he went missing in 2012 (Picture: J Allan/Wessex News)
As time went by following their family cat Toby going missing in 2012, owners Justine and Eric Allan lost hope he’d ever be found alive.
So, having presumed he’d been killed on a busy road near their home in Nuneaton, they were shocked to be reunited with the beloved tabby-and-white pet 11 years later.
‘Toby was my son Charlie’s cat; he was about 12 when Toby went missing, and he was heartbroken when we realised he probably wasn’t coming back,’ Justine explained. ‘[Where we live] is a notoriously busy road, so we just assumed the worst had happened and thought he had been run over.’
Yet Toby was actually living as a stray just 15 minutes’ drive away from home when he was found.
Wendy Harris, Coordinator for the charity’s Coventry Branch, had been contacted by a member of the public who had been feeding a cat in Bedworth on-and-off for around 18 months.
The lady believed it was a female cat who had put weight on and therefore might be pregnant, so called Cats Protection when she spotted it around the bin stores at her flat.
He looks a little different 11 years later (Picture: J Allan/Wessex News)
‘Our volunteer Lorraine went out at 9pm to scan the cat and it turned out not only did it have a chip but that he was a neutered male named Toby, rather than female as originally believed,’ recalled Wendy.
‘I checked the details on the chip database and called the registered owner, however there was no reply until the following morning when Charlie rang and said he did have a cat called Toby and he had been missing almost 12 years!’
Toby’s owners collected him shortly after, and is settling back into life at home – where his days of scavenging and sleeping in the cold are over – nicely.
He’s settling back into family life well (Picture: PA)
Justine said: ‘I can’t believe he survived all this time, the odds were stacked against him, but here he is! We now have a year-old King Charles Cavalier named Bernie. Toby is a typical cat and couldn’t care less but Bernie is not adjusting quite so well.
‘We’re keeping them apart so that we can do slow introductions, but when my husband took Bernie out for the first time after Toby was back I let Toby out of his room and he made himself at right home on Bernie’s bed – he even tried a bit of his food.’
Now 14, he has surpassed the average lifespan for an outdoor cat – and given his condition, it’s thought he may have been taken in at some point.
The pet is getting used to his new dog companion (Picture: PA)
‘He doesn’t seem different at all, he’s obviously been cared for and fed by somebody, I just wish he could tell us what happened,’ said Justine.
‘I never thought in a million years I’d see him again. Think of all those things that have happened in that time.
‘I’m so grateful to the lady who took him in and to Cats Protection for coming out on Saturday night especially as he wasn’t easy to catch! We’ll keep him in now for six to eight weeks and then hope for the best he stays.’
Highlighting the importance of microchipping pets, Madison Rogers, Cats Protection’s Head of Advocacy, Campaigns & Government Relations added: ‘We cannot know what happened to Toby before he was scanned but we encourage anybody who finds a cat who they believe to be lost or stray to take them to a vet or contact an animal rescue charity where they can be checked for a microchip.
‘Luckily Toby’s owner’s details were current and his story is a fantastic example of just how important it is to keep details up to date and how quickly a cat can be returned. He may have been missing for 11 years but because of his microchip he was back home within 24 hours of his owners being contacted!’
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