Missing York cat reunited with owners after 10 years

Shadow the tabby cat was found in York and taken into a local vets

A cat has been reunited with its owners 10 years after it went missing.

Shadow was identified after being taken into a vets in York who scanned her microchip and found where she was from.

Vet Helen Trory said the owners were very surprised when she called them to say Shadow, a tabby, had been found as a stray and brought into her practice.

Ms Trory said it took some detective work to find their name and address, as the details on the national database were out of date.

"By speaking to the microchip company we were able to work out which veterinary practice had implanted the chip in the first place," she said.

"We spoke to them and then they were able to give us the details of the owners that had her before.

"When we contacted them, they assumed they were never going to see her again and they were really happy she was able to come home."

'Very emotional'

Ms Trory said even though a decade had passed, Shadow had not travelled far from her previous home in York when she was found.

Shadow's owners arrived with proof the missing moggy was theirs and took her home to be with the family's other cats.

"She was extremely happy to see them when they came to collect her with their photo ID," said Ms Trory.

"It was all very emotional, but I think there were more tears from the team because they were sad to see her go."

Shadow's story illustrated the importance of getting pets microchipped, the vet added.