A cat has been reunited along with her household 10 years after she went lacking.
Whiskas, who’s 16 years old, was present in Chilton Moor, close to Houghton-le-Spring, not removed from the place she used to stay.
An area resident discovered her residing in his shed and took her to a vet in December, the place she was discovered to have an old RSPCA microchip.
Her proprietor, Linda Ellerton, who final noticed Whiskas in 2013, was alerted after the charity put out a web based attraction.
‘Living as a stray’
Ms Ellerton, who adopted Whiskas in 2007 after the then-kitten was discovered deserted beneath a hedge in Scotland, mentioned she couldn’t consider her cat had been discovered.
She mentioned Whiskas went lacking from the household’s backyard in 2013, and since then they’ve moved from County Durham to Hazelrigg, close to Newcastle.
“When I noticed the RSPCA Facebook submit I believed it will probably’t presumably be Whiskas in any case these years,” she mentioned, including: “I believed the pictures seemed like her, nevertheless it had been so lengthy and we’d by no means thought we’d see her once more.
“We thought she had discovered some place else to stay when she did not are available one evening.”
As she now has a big canine, Ms Ellerton mentioned the choice was made to rehome Whiskas along with her brother, David Jeffrey.
RSPCA inspector David Dawon mentioned: “It was pleasing that we have been in a position to reunite Linda with Whiskas in any case these years. She had a cuddle along with her and it was very emotional to see.”
Mr Dawson mentioned it’s believed Whiskas had “many years of residing as a stray”, and has a kidney downside which would require ongoing remedy.
But Whiskas had placed on weight and was recovering effectively, he added.
From 10 June, it is going to be a authorized requirement to microchip pet cats as soon as they attain 20 weeks of age, with a failure to conform probably leading to a £500 high quality.
Follow BBC North East on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story concepts to [email protected].
