A missing cat in England survived on neighbors' kindness for 8 years, and still knew his owner

A family in England has found a long-missing pet after eight years: a black-and-white cat that disappeared during a move has been located alive.

The breakthrough began online. After Purton Cattery posted a social media appeal, Claire Jerome realized the cat in the post looked strikingly like her cat Ian, the BBC reported.

Ian was taken to Purton Cattery over the weekend after a person who had regularly fed him moved away. The 10-year-old tuxedo cat had originally gone missing from Jerome's former home in Swindon when the family moved, and neighbors had been feeding him for years.

Emma Turner, who runs the cattery, told the BBC that Ian had been cared for informally for a long time. He was neutered and microchipped. Still, staff could not determine who his owners were, so they turned to social media in hopes of finding them.

Jerome said a friend and her father told her about the Facebook appeal. She said the animal looked very much like Ian, though she tried not to get her hopes up. 

That changed when she visited Purton Cattery. "I went to see him and the minute he came out from under the sofa and walked towards me I just knew," she told the BBC. 

Ian's return also reconnected him with other cats from the same family. Jerome said she still has Ian's siblings as well as his aged parents, making it a heartwarming reunion for the animals too.

"They're quite old now but I reunited [Ian] with his mum and I'm happy to say they got on fine," Jerome told the BBC. "He has very similar markings as his mum."

In Ian's case, a microchip did not lead to an immediate match, but local awareness and social media ultimately connected him with Jerome, who shared with the BBC that she'd "never given up hope."

Jerome added that bringing Ian home again was "amazing." As she put it, "Having one of the family reunited with you is incredible in so many different ways my heart could burst."

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