Animal

Woman reunited with cat almost 11 years after she went missing


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Eve McDonnell, 72, was devastated when her pet cat Missy escaped from her car when she stopped to buy some milk in Birmingham on 23 April 2009.

A wide search didn’t track Missy down and Eve gave up hope of seeing her again.

But last week, ten years and nine months after Missy went missing, Eve was stunned to be reunited with her beloved pet cat.

The pair saw each other again after a decade apart when a cat rescue centre got in touch to say Missy had been found living on the streets eight miles away from Eve’s home.

Missy went missing in April 2009 after she snuck into Eve’s car and jumped out as the 72-year-old bought milk (Picture: SWNS )

A delighted pet owner has been reunited with her beloved cat – which had been missing from home for 11 YEARS.

Residents in Hall Green, Birmingham, had spotted the stray cat living among rubbish and sleeping on top of a bin where she became known locally as ‘the driveway cat’.

Retired hairdresser Eve said: ‘I never stopped thinking about her. You just don’t forget your pets – they are irreplaceable.

‘She’s had a rough time, but she’s still my cat. I can’t believe she’s alive.’

Eve had assumed Missy was dead (Picture: SWNS )

Missy escaped when Eve drove to Five Ways in Birmingham city centre without realising her pet was asleep on the back seat after hitching a ride.

She had climbed in through the sunroof and dashed out across a busy roundabout when Eve stopped the car to go to the shops.

Missy was recently spotted by Ali Shah and his mum Salma, who fed and sheltered her for several days.

The pair then took her to Little Haven Rescue in Sutton Coldfield, on February 22.

Rescue centre owner Clare Davis, 46, took the emaciated cat to an emergency vet’s where a microchip was discovered and traced back to Eve.

She was stunned when she received a phone call saying Missy had been found (Picture: SWNS)

Clare said: ‘I’ve never had a rescue that has been missing for so long.

‘I’ve returned cats that have been missing for two or three years but ten years is pretty unbelievable.

‘I’m delighted to have reunited Missy with her owner. Missy had had a terrible time living rough for all those years.

‘When she escaped, it was a complete accident, she didn’t mean to take her for a ride.

‘She climbed in through the sunroof, which Eve managed to close while driving along. When Eve rushed out to buy milk Missy ran out onto the island.

‘She didn’t think she would live through all the busy traffic, but Missy did and must’ve walked the wrong way home.

‘When she came into the centre she had to go on recovery fluids because she was so weak after going without food for three days.

Missy’s survival has been called a miracle (Picture: SWNS)

‘At her age it had an enormous effect on her and she was so weak there was no way she could go straight back to her owner in that state.

‘She was on a knife edge and it took a week to get her back into good condition.

‘When I called Eve she said to me: “My mind has been in a whirlwind”. She didn’t know whether she could cope with taking her back.

‘She had given up hope of finding her and had grieved her, thinking she had died.

‘She was absolutely delighted to get Missy back. She had never replaced her and didn’t realise how much she was missing having a companion as she lives alone.

‘But she could never bring herself to replace her.’

‘How Missy survived all those years is by being a typical Missy.

‘She was able to fend for herself and source food. She’s a very intelligent cat and it’s a miracle she survived.

‘She’d cry for food outside someone’s house and would find it naturally.

‘When she came into the centre I started calling her Missy because she was a right little missy cat.

‘And amazingly it turned out that was her real name.

‘I told Eve and she said: “It was because of her personality and temperament I first named her Missy”.

‘We are glad she is finally back home where she belongs after all these years.’

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