Cat found after vanishing for 11 years

Bandy was found in Solihull, after going missing from Coventry in 2013

A cat has been found after going missing from his home in Coventry 11 years ago.

Chloe McCrea was devastated when her cat, Bandy, vanished after being let outside in Keresley on Bonfire Night in 2013.

But Bandy had not gone far, and was identified at a vet surgery, 13 miles away in Solihull, earlier this month.

He had adopted a loving new family, and Mrs McCrea gave her blessing for him to remain with them.

Bandy was found by a woman in a Solihull graveyard, about two weeks after going missing. She was unable to care for him, so gave him to her mother.

He lived with the family for more than a decade, under his new name, Tigger, and his microchip was not picked up.

His former life was only discovered when the family took him to be chipped ahead of new guidance.

Mrs McCrea visited him at a vets in Solihull, after getting the call.

"I was in absolute shock, and ecstatic," she said.

"It was almost as if he was back from the dead, because I had grieved for him, I thought he’d died."

"I like to think he remembered me, but he is super friendly. He did sit on my lap for quite a period of time," she added.

Chloe McCrea said it was like Bandy had returned from the dead

Despite the emotional reunion, Mrs McCrea decided to leave Bandy with his new family.

"When his new owner found out, she was devastated. She thought she was going to lose him," she said.

"We knew him for a year, and she’s invested so much in him. We have two children, two dogs, we have his brother and another cat. It probably wouldn’t be fair to bring him back," she continued.

She swapped numbers with the new owner, so they could exchange pictures.

"To know nothing untoward happened, and that someone was looking after him all this time is just the best outcome you could hope for," she said.