Doncaster widow's delight after long-lost cat comes home after a year

Laddo became a much-loved companion to retired NHS worker Sybil Gillatt after the unexpected death of her husband Keith. So when the long-haired black cat went missing last November, she felt the great loss of the family cat.

Mrs Gillatt, aged 70, said: “Laddo didn’t come back as usual that evening. I didn’t worry too much because he’d sometimes do that and would sleep under the shed, but when he didn’t come when I called him in the morning, I knew that wasn’t right.

“The weather was quite bad that day so my son thinks that Laddo might have climbed in the back of a trailer from a nearby farm without the driver knowing. I looked for him for days and put up notices but nobody had seen him. He was gone.”

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Even then, Sybil didn’t lose hope. One year on she still kept his bedding, toys and scratching post in the hope that Laddo, three years old when he took off, might return.

Mrs Gillatt said: “I lost my husband, Keith the year before. We had so many plans, then suddenly it was just me and Laddo. He was company for me. So when he disappeared I was lost. I’ve had a horrible year without Keith and Laddo, I really have.

“Although I started to fear that I wouldn’t see him again, there had to be hope. People might think it sounds silly but I needed to believe that.”

What she couldn’t have known was that, for eight of those 12 dreadful months, Laddo was being fed and cared for as a stray in a garden near Skegness – 75 miles from home.

Cat lover Karen Rice, said: “In April what I thought was a feral cat started to visit my garden. When he turned up he was thin, his coat was a mess and he was very timid. He wouldn’t allow me anywhere near him but I took pity on him and named him Foxglove.

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“As the nights got colder I tried coaxing him in but he seemed to prefer being outdoors whatever the weather. There was some tension with one of my other cats and I knew that if they couldn't accept him, I would need to contact Cats Protection to find him a new home.”

Before that decision had to be made, Karen borrowed a scanner to check the microchips in her own cats. Luckily, Foxglove was around that day so she scanned him too and was surprised by what she found.

Karen said: “I couldn't believe it when he was chipped. I contacted my local Cats Protection branch, gave them the chip number and the next day they phoned to tell me that the owner had been traced.”

Mrs Gillatt added: “I couldn’t believe it. I am so grateful that Laddo had been looked after by a cat lover like Karen and that Cats Protection were able to trace me. I’m so glad we got him microchipped. Without that chip, I wouldn’t have been driving over to collect my boy.

“He really was so pleased to be home, he remembered everything. This is the best Christmas present ever.”

Cats Protection’s work has continued throughout the COVID-19 crisis, thanks to the charity’s generous supporters who make it all possible. To donate to the Skegness and District Branch and support cats like Laddo, visit: www.cats.org.uk/christmas/donate