Missing 'shop cat' found after 13 years

Tilly turned up in a garden in the summer

A cat that regularly greeted customers at a pet shop has been found 13 years after being reported missing.

Black cat Tilly was much-loved by customers at the shop in Great Dunmow, Essex, before disappearing and being reported missing by her owner in 2012.

After a friendly old stray turned up in a garden in Brentwood - about 30 miles (50km) away - she was scanned and traced back to the now-deceased shop owner.

His family was unable to take Tilly in, but Jessica Davies, who found Tilly in her garden, has now learned about the cat's "bonkers" history and has formally adopted the 15-year-old who she said was settling in well in her new home.

Jo Rosewell worked in the shop in Dunmow and took this photo of Tilly in 2012, just before the cat disappeared

"I had seen this cat near some stables for quite a while and thought it must live nearby," said Ms Davies.

"Then one day I found it in my summer house and though it looked a bit beaten up... I still thought it must have a home."

Tilly (foreground) is settling in well with her new adopted family

The family began giving the cat a little food every now and then, and called it Bobby, as they assumed it was a boy.

After a few weeks, Ms Davies contacted her friend Diane Evans, who runs an Essex-based charity, Meows Kitten & Cat Rescue, and they sent her a scanner.

The chip revealed the name of the owner but the address and phone number were no longer valid so Ms Evans put out a plea on a local Facebook page.

Dozens of people responded, recognising the previous owner's name and recalling the cat named Tilly which used to frequent the shop.

Tilly has decided to stay, her new owner said

"We think perhaps she got in a delivery van at the shop and ended up miles from home," Ms Davies said.

Jo Rosewell, who worked at the shop in 2012, was delighted to hear Tilly had been found, so many years later.

"She was brought in by her owner to keep down any mice that might get into the food stores and she just became our 'shop cat'," she said.

"I remember Tilly being super-crazy but she would sit on everyone's laps and shoulders - such a lovely cat."

Ms Rosewell said when Tilly went missing - and the months passed - "we just assumed we'd never know what happened".

She added: "It's so wonderful to know she's still with us and that she's being loved."

Although Tilly's rescuers were eventually able to trace a member of the owner's family, they could not take in the elderly cat.

Neither Ms Evans nor Ms Davies have any idea where Tilly had been since being reported missing in 2012.

"She really is such a sweet cat and it's such an amazing, bonkers story," said Ms Davies.

"She's staying with us now - I think Tilly took to us and thought 'you're mine, now'."