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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Liam Buckler & Tom Bevan

Cat reunited with family in remarkable coincidence after going missing 11 years ago

A cat has been reunited with its family after going missing 11 years ago - when he was spotted on a Facebook page.

Owner Ruth Orme, from Hertfordshire, was left heartbroken after her moggy cat Ziggy went missing as a one-year-old in 2011.

And despite searching for Ziggy, Ruth was no closer to finding him, and she gave up hope of ever seeing him alive again.

However, after a remarkable coincidence, pictures of him were uploaded to Facebook.

Ruth said: "On Sunday, my ex had a phone call from a microchip database saying someone had found our cat.

"He went out one day as usual back in 2011, and never came back.

Ruth is delighted to be reunited with Ziggy after 11 years (Ruth Orme / SWNS)

"We'd had him just under a year, he was fully grown.

"We posted flyers throughout the town, went out night after night shaking food and following sightings but had no luck.

"Apparently some lads had found him on Royston industrial estate, around a 20-minute walk from where he went missing.

A vet carried out a microchip check and he was reunited with his family (Ruth Orme / SWNS)

"He'd been there a few days so was fed and a video was posted a video on a Facebook Royston reporting page and a lady from a rescue group came out to pick him up and had his microchip scanned.

"This resulted in the call to us.

"He was returned Monday, looking in great shape with a few signs he'd been outside a while.

"He hasn't changed much at all and we're obviously in shock, super grateful he's back home.

"He looks the same, and his temperament hasn't changed. He still loves a cuddle."

The cute cat was found by the two men just a 20 minute walk from where he went missing (Ruth Orme / SWNS)

Ruth's cat was aged about one when last seen by his owner at her house in Royston, Hertfordshire, in 2011.

Remarkably, Ziggy was found by the two men just a 20-minute walk from where he went missing.

Ruth added: "It was a miracle - and it's like he's never been away as she admitted: "After a couple of years, I had given up hope."

She got a new cat - Freddie - but said she never forgot about Ziggy.

Ziggy is back at home and relaxed on the sofa (Ruth Orme / SWNS)

"He looks the same and acts the same," she added.

"We can't tell if he recognises us because he was always such a friendly cat, but he's been sitting on our laps and purring happily."

Ruth said he seemed in good health and she had no idea where Ziggy had been all this time.

But she thinks he was living as a stray but being fed by several different households in the area.

"I really hope he settles back in," she said.

"He's already met Freddie and they don't seem to be too fussed about each other, which is a good thing."

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