Sheffield cat lost in snowstorm reunited with owner three years later

Oscar the cat is home safe and sound in Sheffield

A Sheffield cat is back with his owner three years after going missing in a snowstorm.

Katie Salt said Oscar disappeared in January 2020 after unexpected heavy snow and did not return home.

Despite posters and social media appeals Oscar, 12, could not be found - until a vet called saying he had been living in a garden six miles away.

Ms Salt, who had thought the worst, said she was "so happy" Oscar was back at home "where he belongs".

The cat was identified thanks to his microchip after being taken to the vet with an injury.

He had been fed and was given an outside shelter but was not checked for a chip, Ms Salt said.

'We searched for weeks'

As well as social media posts, Ms Salt contacted neighbours who checked their CCTV, outhouses and gardens.

She also got in touch with animal rescues, cat shelters and vets. But no one had seen him.

Ms Salt said: "I walked the streets at night for miles and hours shouting his name, rattling his food, for weeks on end. All to no avail.

"We eventually concluded he must have died during the snowstorm, but we still scanned our eyes everywhere, whenever we were out driving, and to be honest this never stopped, even after two years."

Ms Salt said Oscar's temporary carers had taken him to a vet when he needed medical care.

She continued: "The vet, after hearing their story, checked him for a chip and low and behold it was our Oscar!"

Pet microchips are the size of a grain of rice and store owners' details on a database

Oscar, who needed surgery, remembered her and now "cannot stop purring" at home, she said.

Ms Salt urged other pet owners to make sure their animals' microchips were up to date and to get them a collar with a tag stating they had one.

Bill Lambert, spokesperson for Petlog, the firm Oscar is chipped with, said: "Their story shows just how important it is for owners to chip their pets, keep their contact details up to date with their microchip database, and to hold out hope no matter how much time has passed.

"Cat owners should also be aware that the government have announced microchipping will become a legal requirement for cats in England from June 2024."

A microchip is the size of a grain of rice which is inserted under the skin at the back of an animal's neck.

It permanently identifies pets and connects them with an owner's contact details, which are held on a database.