Wayward cat Rupert now reunited with Whitchurch owners
When Rupert the cat ran away two weeks after moving into his new home in Shropshire, his owners feared the worst and thought they would never see him again.
But three months on the adventurous pet has been reunited with his Whitchurch owners after taking up temporary residence with a town vet.
Rupert, a seven-year-old black and white domestic shorthair, had been sharing the food of the vet's cats on the opposite side of the town to where he lived.
The vet, Andy Nelson, from the town's Leonard Brothers Veterinary Centre, managed to catch him and take him to his workplace to be checked over.
He scanned Rupert for a microchip which confirmed he belonged to Philip and Kim Dunsdon, of Wrexham Road.
The couple, who have since taken on two other cats, say they are astonished to have him back.
Mr Dunsdon said: "About seven years ago we lived in Market Drayton and Rupert found us.
"We took him to the vet where they said he wasn't microchipped and he was healthy, so we decided to take him in.
"We moved to Whitchurch in April and vets say keep them in doors until they get used to their new surroundings.
"I used to take him into the garden on a lead so he could get used to his new home.
"After about two weeks, he was on the lead, the door slammed shut, and he bolted.
"We weren't sure if he was going to come back and thought he might come to a sticky end.
"We went and got two cats from the cat rescue in Grinshill. I then got a call on Tuesday from Julia from Leonard Brothers to say he had been found, so we now have three cats.
"We didn't expect to see him again, but he is now back home and we are integrating him with the other two."
Julia Fox, receptionist at Leonard Brothers, said: "This stray cat turned up at Andy Nelson's home, one of our vets, on the other side of the town to where he came from.
"At first he was scared and timid and Andy couldn't get hold of him.
"He became more confident and Andy managed to get hold of him and bring him into the centre.
"We scanned it, found a microchip and the microchip company gave use the number of his owners.
"He had been at Andy's for a month, so I don't know what he had been doing for the other two months."
She added: "Following this case, our message to people is you need to microchip your pet."
