A WANDERING cat was re-united with its owner yesterday after going missing for more than two years.
The free-roaming feline, called Tigger, went missing from its Edinburgh home in May 2007, but was picked up just last week by the SSPCA more than 150 miles away in Inverness.
The hefty ginger tomcat was identified through a microchip in its fur, and was taken back down to the SSPCA headquarters in Dunfermline to be picked up by delighted owner Carole Tait.
Carole, 58, said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic, when I got a phone call from the SSPCA the other day I didn’t think for a second it would be about Tigger.
“He’d gone missing before, but usually we’d picked him up quite quickly.
“However after a thorough search in the surrounding area, and a campaign of posters, including on the internet, we heard nothing so it’s just fantastic to know he’s alive, let alone have him back home.
“He’s just exactly the same as I remember him, albeit more than a little overweight – wherever he’s been he’s clearly been very well looked after.
“It’s so important to have your pet micro-chipped, I would strongly advise anyone with a pet to do his as soon as possible.”
Alistair MacLeod, SSPCA Regional Superintendent in Inverness, made the journey south to deliver the cat and said that it was not clear how the cat managed to travel from Edinburgh to the Inverness.
He said: “He might have jumped onto a car or a lorry, or it’s possible that a student befriended him in Edinburgh and took him home to keep.
“However he got so far north, it’s great to be able to re-unite him with Carole.
“This story amply displays the importance of microchip technology, and of making sure people get their pets properly tagged.
“Anyone missing a pet for any length of time should contact the SSPCA, and we will check it against our database of missing pets, and hopefully re-unite it with its owner.”
