Lost cat reunited with worried owner (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Lost cat reunited with worried owner

BEN, the long-lost cat, and his owner Nikki White have been re-united after the distraught cat lover abandoned a holiday in South Africa and flew the 8,000 miles home to scour the fields around Malmesbury in search of him.

The missing moggy returned to the home in Garsdon he shares with Miss White and his sibling Bill in the early hours of Monday morning, looking thin but ebullient.

"I am absolutely delighted," said Miss White on Monday, her beloved ginger cat curled up and purring next to her. "I woke up at 3am, went downstairs and there he was with Bill in the utility room. He looked ecstatic to be home again."

The drama began a fortnight ago when Miss White, 45, was in the middle of a holiday with her fiance Finn Spicer in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, having left her mother Ann at home to look after the two cats.

On hearing from Ann during a phone call that Ben had disappeared, she knew she had to travel home straight away to look for him - a journey that took 26 hours.

"I felt it wasn't fair leaving my Mum to deal with the grisly situation on her own," said Miss White, who recently moved to Garsdon from Bristol.

"When I got home, I put posters up and visited all the farms and homes in the area to see if anyone had spotted him.

"Someone accidentally abducted another cat last week - thinking it must be Ben - and it was only when we got it home that we realised it was the wrong cat. It's since been re-united with its owner too."

Over the weekend, Miss White had been planning to contact the British Institute of Dowsers on Monday to see if they could help locate the cat.

" I was so worried and upset about him being out in the snow and bitter winds on Sunday, I cried. But what helped me keep going was all the amazing help and kindness everyone has shown me.

"I got phone calls from people urging me not to give up hope and saying they were keeping their eyes open. So I'm very grateful to everyone."