Missing cat returns after four years

A cat that went missing four years ago has been reunited with its relieved owners, who said they had almost given up hope.

Owner Cristel Worth said she let Willow out to play from her Devon home in 2007 but the black cat did not return home.

The missing pet was one of three that disappeared from the same close in Dartmoor within months of each other. Animal owners should be aware that pet insurance can help pay for the costs of finding a pet.

Willow, who is now 10 years old, was found in Plymouth and reunited with her owners the day after Boxing Day.

Cristel, 32, said: "It's really only sinking in now, but it's the best Christmas present ever.

"How she managed to stray from Princetown to, about 20 miles away, to get to Elburton, I have no idea. It's a long journey right across the moors."

A Plymouth family looked after Willow for six months until she was placed in the Gables Farm Dogs' and Cats' Home, where staff were able to identify her from an implanted microchip.

Cristel added: "We had almost given up hope that we would ever find her again and it was a really wonderful experience to know that she had finally come home."

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