Stray cat is reunited with her family in Milton Keynes after being missing for three years

The grey and white cat was spotted visiting local hedgehog sanctuary, Hedgehog Haven MK.

The sanctuary's owner Lorraine Wasden has a "gut feeling" the cat was lost, so she called her friend Nikki Hodghton who volunteers for MK Cat Rescue.

Nikki went out and scan this cat for a microchip and the scanner beeped, indicating the cat has been chipped.

MK Cat Rescue retrieved the chip details, which gave the name and phone number of a woman called Claire in Milton Keynes,.

"It turns out Tiggy had been missing for THREE years!" said an MK Cat Rescue spokesman Emma.

"Claire and her daughter soon arrived to find it was indeed their beautiful Tiggy. A family was reunited and their home was once again complete.

"Without her microchip, Tiggy may never have been found! Her owners never gave up, in the hope that one day they would receive that very important call."

Claire said: “We are so happy, we are completely over the moon, I’ve cried about a million times! I just cannot believe that after all this time she has been found.

I am really thankful to Lorraine for thinking to get her scanned. And a thank you to Nikki for coming out to scan and contacting me.

"It does just show that clear message. Microchip your pets, keep your details up to date and anything can happen.”

Nikki said: “Please make sure if your pet goes missing, you contact the chip company, check they have the correct details and register them as lost. Keeping those details up to date means the chance of being reunited is a lot higher.”

Emma said: “Stories like these just absolutely fill your heart with joy. No-one can underestimate the power of the microchip. It is such an inexpensive way of ensuring you can be reunited with your cats, if they sadly go missing."

She added: "In recent years, the number of strays that are reported to us are not microchipped. They could be someone’s family pet, but without the microchip it is almost impossible to be able to reunite them if that is the case. Owners taking responsibility for microchipping their cat should be a top priority as a pet owner.”

MK Cat Rescue, which recently celebrated its five-year anniversary, is dedicated to helping

cats in need across Milton Keynes. They are increasingly trying to raise awareness for the importance

of microchipping, which is is not expensive and painless for animals.

You can find out more information on microchipping here