Doncaster family reunited with their cat who had been missing for three weeks and travelled more than 10 miles on foot

Black and white cat Sole had his owner Lucy Loizou and her family worried sick when he did not return home after being let out of the house in Armthorpe in November.

They searched high and low for their pet, ringing vets and posting photos online, but to no avail.

That was until the heartbroken family’s hopes of seeing him again came true when Sole was spotted on December 13, sheltering from the winter elements in a discarded duffel bag in Balby, having travelled more than 10 miles from his home on foot.

He was taken by a member of public to the RSPCA, who successfully managed to track down his owners.

Inspector Kristy Ludlam, who reunited the cat with his owners just before Christmas on Friday, 20 December, said: “Poor Sole was very skinny after three weeks living on the streets and was feeling pretty sorry for himself but after being checked over by the vets, I tried to contact the owners to reunite him.

“Unfortunately, the phone number and address were not up to date on the microchip but there was an email. Sole’s previous owner got in touch and gave us the right details which led us to Lucy.

“Lucy was so pleased to have Sole return home. She explained he had been missing for three weeks and they had been really worried.”

Lucy said: “We were so worried about him and we are so thankful to have him back. I had let him out on the Saturday morning, we don’t have a cat flap so he usually waits at the door to be let back in but he wasn’t there.

“He does sometimes take himself off and there have been times when he’s got himself locked in a cupboard in the house so we searched the house but there was no sign of him.

“I posted on the Facebook lost and found page and rang vets in the area but no luck. My sons, who love Sole, were heartbroken he was missing.”

Lucy explained she re-homed Sole around two years ago after looking after him for a friend.

Lucy explained: “Then the kids just absolutely fell in love with him and we agreed we would keep him and he’s been here ever since.”

Sole was able to be reunited with his family because he was microchipped. The RSPCA stressed the importance of making sure your pets are chipped.

Caroline Allen, Chief Veterinary Officer at the RSPCA, said: “Microchipping your pet is vitally important in ensuring that if anything happens to them, if they are lost or stolen, or hit by a car, then they can be returned to you.

“Despite our best efforts to find an owner, the most reliable way to identify a cat is to have him or her microchipped. If the contact details are out of date the chip is completely useless so it is vitally important to tell the chip company yourself if any contact details change.

“We see cases where we would love to reunite microchipped cats with their owner but can't because the details have not been updated."