An ecstatic mum-of-two was blown away when she was reunited with her missing cat after it disappeared from their home 13 years – the feline was living a new life just eight miles away
A mum-of-two was left stunned after she was reunited with her missing cat after nearly 13 long years.
Natalie Wright’s beloved feline friend Ozzy disappeared from their home back in 2009.
The 46-year-old says she spent months desperately searching and following up sightings, but as year after year passed she assumed the cat was sadly never going to return.
But, a miracle happened when the pair were reunited last week after Ozzy was found living at a holiday park – just eight miles away.
Natalie, 46, of Newton Abbot, Devon, said: “I can’t believe he’s been found, it’s amazing.
“We thought Ozzy was gone forever and that he had either moved away with another family or died.
“For him to be back home after all these years is brilliant. He’s getting spoiled rotten.”
Natalie said that on his return, Ozzy recognised an old cat and dog who were at the house all those years ago.
And that moments after getting back, he trotted off to his favourite sleeping spot from years gone by.
Natalie said: “It was like he never left.”
Rescuers from Hector’s House Cat Rescue Charity were called out to a holiday park in Paignton, Devon, on July 28 to reports of a cat in need of medical attention.
After treating mouth injuries, they put a picture of the puss on social media asking if he belonged to anyone.
Natalie said: “I was just scrolling through and I saw the picture and thought, ‘oh my god that’s Ozzy’.
“His features looked the same and his colouring, I was sure it was him but also didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
“I wondered whether he could even still be alive.”
Natalie went to the holiday park to see Ozzy and compared a picture before taking him home to see how he settled.
She said: “When we got home I knew he was the one, he just settled in.”
Zara Oldfield from Hector’s House said: “It’s an amazing turn of events.
“It’s very unusual for a cat to be reunited with its owner 13 years later.
“I had one that was gone for seven years once and I never thought I’d see something like it again.
“This is unbelievable really.”
It’s thought Ozzy was permanently living at the park and being fed by residents and holidaymakers there.
Help was sought after someone noticed he had a problem with his mouth and was dribbling.
Zara and her team attended and established he needed urgent dental work before setting about finding his owners.
She said no one can ever be certain Ozzy is the missing cat but that all signs point towards him being the one.
Zara added: “The cat has a specific colouring and I can’t see why anyone would take on a 16-year-old cat in need of dental work if it wasn’t really theirs.
“I think the cat has ended up back where it came from, which is a great ending for everyone.”
Discussion about this post