A cat has been reunited with its owners after going missing for six years – when she was found living under a bush three streets away from their home.
Pauline and Trevor Robinson gave up hope of ever seeing Georgie again after she darted out of a window at their home in September 2016.
Despite a search, Georgie could not be found and the couple believed she must have died.
They even put a memorial plaque to their beloved puss on the mantelpiece at their home in the village of Pity Me, County Durham.
But the couple were stunned when they received a call from the RSPCA saying Georgie had been found living under a hedge nearby.
Incredibly, Georgie was found on Front Street – 500 yards from Pauline and Trevor’s home in Hudspeth Crescent.
RSPCA inspector John Lawson received a call from worried residents saying they had seen a badly malnourished stray cat on the road.
Georgie was underweight and suffering from an open sore on her throat when she was taken to the vet.
A check revealed Georgie was microchipped and that her owners, Pauline, 78, and Trevor, 81, lived just around the corner.
After an emotional reunion, Georgie, who is now 14, is settling back home and is preparing to meet the couple’s two other cats, Charlie and Sabrina, and rescue dog, Bree.
Pauline said: “Georgie was eight when she went missing. We had her as a kitten from the same litter as another cat, Fudge, who has passed now.
“We were so upset we knocked on doors and put up posters for weeks to try and find her, but eventually we accepted that she wasn’t coming back and that she had probably died.
“It’s a miracle really and we couldn’t understand how she was so close to us.
“My son lives on Front Street and we used to walk down that way with our dog.
“Maybe someone took her in for some of those years because I don’t think she would have survived living rough for that long.
“We’d been out one night and there was a card from the RSPCA put through the door saying they thought they’d found our cat.
“Once they described her to me I knew it was her.
“She went straight onto my knee as if she hadn’t been away – I had a few tears I must admit.
“The RSPCA has been tip-top and it does show that microchipping works.”
RSPCA Inspector Lawson said: “Georgie wasn’t doing very well to be honest when I found her.
“She was very underweight and had a flea infection. She was living rough and a resident who was feeding her said she’d been aware of her for at least two years.
“Tins of tuna were being put down for her and it appears she limped on, helped by the kindness of strangers.
“But despite everything she was very friendly when we found her and she was so happy to see her owners – she didn’t move from Pauline’s knee.
“Georgie had been a house cat who never ventured out, until she got out through a window.
“It’s incredible she was living maybe just three streets away from Pauline and Trevor.
“It also demonstrates the importance of getting cats microchipped. Georgie would not have been reunited with her owners without one.”
