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Delighted cat owner reunited with missing moggy in time for Christmas
A DELIGHTED cat owner has been reunited with his missing moggy in time for Christmas - more than a year after he mysteriously disappeared.
Daniel Broadbent, of Aspen Grove, Northwood Hills, was left distraught after his beloved pet, Lister, failed to return home in November last year.
But he was overjoyed to receive a letter last week saying his two-year-old cat was being cared for by a kind-hearted lady in Bushey, near Watford.
Mr Broadbent, 28, said: "Lister is quite independent and happy to come and go using his cat flap, but one day he went out and never came back.
"At the time I had another cat, Jasper, who also went missing. I put posters up everywhere in the local area and reported their disappearances to the vet.
"Sadly I found out that Jasper, who was just a kitten, got run over and died - but I had no response whatsoever about Lister.
"I thought he had probably wandered off into the woods, and maybe a fox got him.
"Eventually, I just gave up hope and accepted he was gone, so I was amazed when I got the letter saying he was still alive.
Mr Broadbent, a security supervisor at Heathrow Airport, received the good news after the company which micro-chipped Lister wrote to him enquiring about a change of ownership.
He said: "A woman called Judith Barnes started feeding Lister about a month ago when one of her neighbours, Lisa, suggested taking him to the vets to be castrated, which I hadn't managed to do yet.
"The vets contacted the micro-chip company who got in touch with me, and after I got the letter I was straight on the phone to the owners!
"Although Mrs Barnes had got quite attached, she was happy to let Lister come home."
But how Lister survived in the months before he was being cared for by Mrs Barnes remains a mystery.
Mr Broadbent, who currently has five cats in total, added: "I have no idea how he managed to survive all this time or find his way to Bushey - perhaps he jumped on the back of a workman's van.
"He probably hunted down birds and mice in the woods, or perhaps someone had been feeding him scraps."
Mr Broadbent is now calling on pet owners to get their furry friends micro-chipped: "If it hadn't been for that chip, I probably would never have seen Lister again.
"I am very grateful to Mrs Barnes for taking care of him and to the vets for bringing us together, especially during Christmas time.
"Lister is a very special cat and I was very sad when he went missing, but I plan to really spoil him now."
Have you been reunited with a long-lost love? Email Gazette reporter Siba Matti at sibamatti@trinitysouth.co.uk or post a comment below.
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