Oakham: Ivy the missing cat reunited with family after three years

Ivy was partly identified by her distinctive wonky tail

A cat which vanished without a trace nearly three years ago has been reunited with its owners after turning up at a nearby school.

Ivy disappeared from her home in Oakham, in Rutland, in 2021 and all the efforts of her owner Hannah, and her children Martha and Toby to find the feline failed.

The family said they had given up hope of seeing Ivy again until a picture of their pet was posted online last week.

"It was bizarre," said Hannah.

"I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a post in a local group saying 'Does anyone recognise this cat? She's been hanging around Oakham School for the last few weeks,'

"I thought it looked like Ivy so I grabbed a picture of her from years ago and then I was in no doubt."

Hannah said it was the first clue about Ivy's whereabouts since August 2021.

"We'd gone away on a short camping break, left food for Ivy and asked the neighbours to check on her," she said.

"But she just vanished without trace. She was just gone."

It was a "gorgeous" moment when Ivy was returned to Toby and Martha, their mum said

Hannah added: "Somehow I felt Ivy was still alive somewhere and I told the children she was somewhere living a new life.

"We were all sad but we accepted it."

Hannah said she went to the school to collect Ivy.

"Typically she wasn't there but Ivy has very distinctive markings and a wonky tail after surgery when she was small," Hannah said.

"When one of the girls confirmed the cat at the school had a wonky tail I burst into tears."

Ivy did turn up the following day and Hannah collected her and took her home to Martha, 8, and Toby, 9.

She said: "When I got her home it was an absolutely gorgeous moment. They were so happy to see her after all this time."

Ivy's identity was later confirmed by a vet who checked the cat's microchip.

Hannah added: "Based on Ivy's appearance we don't think she's been in the wild this whole time.

"People need to know that if they take in a cat they think is a stray, they must take it to the vets to be scanned for a microchip, because had this been done then we would have reunited much sooner."

Hannah is urging people who find cats to get them checked for microchips