Alfie's story

Alfie had been missing for 2 months. We did everything – we printed 50+ posters and leaflets; we also got him in the local paper and on every website we could find on the net and we visited all our local shelters and left our details there and with local vets and phoned street cleansing to see if he had been found at the roadside; we also got all neighbours to check sheds garages etc.; we also – and this sounds mad – but we emptied the hoover bag contents at the bottom of the garden so he could smell his home smells in the wind if he had become disorientated and was on the back fields somewhere.

We had been to the local destitute animal centre about a month after he went missing to look for him, but he wasn't there, so we left our details and then left.

Then we got a phone call from them saying someone had reported a stray cat about 3 miles from us -- but they thought it might be female. We went to look just in case – but when we got to the house of the lady who had found him he had jumped out of the kitchen window 15 minutes before we got there!

We all went into the garden and shouted for him; we only had to shout twice and he came over the wall meowing. He seemed as though he knew us but was a little unsure – he was a lot muckier but seems to have lost no weight considering he had been missing 2 months to the day.

He was home where he belonged – having his late Christmas dinner! He didn't get to spend Christmas with us so we are making up for it now.

We never gave up looking. And in the end all the phone calls and visits to the animal shelters paid off.