Cat missing for four months found 300 miles away

Luna had travelled 300 miles and to a different country after she went missing

A missing cat has been reunited with its owner after being found 300 miles away.

Sophie Carty was "devastated" when her cat Luna disappeared from their home in Darlington in November and spent weeks searching for her.

Four months later, Ms Carty received a call to say Luna was alive and had been found locked in a hotel shed.

"I was inconsolable and asked where she was, that's when the vet told me she was in Inverness in Scotland," she said.

"I couldn't believe it, that was around a six-hour drive from where Luna went missing."

Ms Carty was contacted by Higland Vet Referrals after Luna was brought into surgery and was doing well, despite being very thin.

She said she has "no clue" how her cat managed to travel to Scotland but has now brought her home.

Luna had suffered from malnourishment, an infection and suspected nerve damage and was described as being in a "fragile state".

"On her first couple of nights home, Luna was in a very bad way, very tired and looked to be paralysed on her back end," Ms Carty said.

"However, after a trip to the vets, antibiotics and painkillers, she is like a new cat."

'Lift to Loch Ness'

When Luna was found she was taken to a local vet, who was able to scan her microchip and find her owner's contact details.

Ms Carty is now urging all pet owners to get their furry friends microchipped.

"It is so easy for cats to go walkabout, be picked up, or hop in the back of a van and travel miles," she said.

"If it wasn't for her microchip, we would have never seen her again. Please make sure your details are up to date, because you never know when your cat might hitch a lift to visit Loch Ness."