Purr-fect ending for missing Shirebrook cat

A cat owner is delighted after being reunited with her beloved pussy - seven years after she went missing.
Jan Cheeseman is reunited with Freya the cat after missing for 8 yearsJan Cheeseman is reunited with Freya the cat after missing for 8 years
Jan Cheeseman is reunited with Freya the cat after missing for 8 years

Freya disappeared from her Shirebrook home in 2008 and her owner, Jan Cheeseman, presumed she had died.

Jan, of Fir Close, said that she had given up hope years ago.

However, seven years later the footloose feline was discovered in Sheffield, by volunteers from South Yorkshire animal charity Rain Rescue.

The charity runs a project to temporarily and humanely trap, neuter and then release stray cats, in a bid to stop colonies of feral cats from breeding.

The 14-year-old was one of those trapped and when checked for a microchip – as all captured cats are – her adventure and Shirebrook home were discovered.

Sue Utley, cat co-ordinator at Rain Rescue, said: “We contacted the owner on Friday when we trapped Freya, but there was no-one in. We were all waiting with our fingers crossed that she hadn’t moved and would call us back.

“Luckily she was in the same place.

“We arranged for a volunteer and volunteer driver to take Freya back to be reunited with her owner.”

“She already has four more cats, but she was desperate to see Freya again.”

Jan described it as a “magical moment”.

She said: “She still looks amazing after all these years.

“She’s exactly the same as I remember her before - only with a few more grey hairs.

“I’ve had a cuddle with her and let her go back to sleep for a while and I bought all her favourite food in.

“I think she’s gonig to be just fine now.”

Sue Utley added: “We will never know how she got to Sheffield, but cats are notoriously curious, and so often end up hitching a ride in cars lorries and vans.

“She may have been taken in by someone. We believe Freya joined a small feral group but never became feral, although she has picked up some pretty good tips on hiding food.

“In the wild, any food you can’t eat has to be hidden from other hungry mouths.

“Freya remembers this, so what she wasn’t eating at her temporary lodgings, she was hiding beneath newspaper.

“What we are trying to get across is that microchipping does work as long as the details are kept up to date.”

Rain Rescue relies heavily on donations to survive.

To donate visit www.rainrescue.co.uk/make-a-donation or text TRAP33, then an amount you wish to donate between £1 and £10, to 70070