Two sisters were left stunned after their beloved cat suddenly turned up alive — a full decade after she disappeared without a trace.
Lucy Robertson and Hannah Davies had only recently moved to Abercarn, Wales, in 2016 when their mostly outdoor tabby, Charlie, vanished.
The sisters desperately searched for her, posted about her disappearance and followed up on possible sightings, but Charlie was nowhere to be found.
As the years passed, they feared the worst.
“It was heartbreaking,” Robertson told BBC Radio Wales Drive. “We were scared that she had been knocked over or that she wasn’t around any more.”
The family received a few possible tips about Charlie’s whereabouts, but they were never able to track her down.
“We tried to find her, but we kept missing her,” Davies, 37, said. “We never lost hope. But sadly, we just couldn’t find her.”
Then, 10 years later, came the phone call they never expected.
Just one day before Robertson’s 30th birthday in 2026, Davies learned that Charlie had finally been found.
“The most craziest thing happened this morning,” Robertson wrote on Facebook while sharing photos of the long-lost cat. She explained that her sister had received a call saying Charlie had been located and was waiting to be picked up.
Davies said she was “gobsmacked” when the veterinarian contacted her with the incredible news.
Charlie had apparently been living nearby all along. Someone in the area had been feeding the cat and eventually took her to a veterinarian, where staff scanned her microchip and discovered who she belonged to.
Charlie was only 3 years old when she disappeared. She is now 13.
Even more surprisingly, she appeared to be in good health despite spending an entire decade away from her original family.
Exactly where Charlie had been — or what adventures she may have had during those missing years — remains a mystery.
“She doesn’t look much different at all, she looks exactly the same as the old photos we have of her,” Robertson said.
And despite all those years apart, Robertson said Charlie appeared to recognize both sisters “straight away.”
Now Charlie is settling back into family life, although introducing her to the sisters’ other pets is still a “work in progress.”
After spending 10 years missing, however, Charlie seems more than happy to make up for lost time.
Robertson joked that the tabby is soaking up all the extra affection — and may even realize that her incredible homecoming has made her a little famous.
“Right now I feel like she knows she’s a bit of a celebrity,” she said, adding that Charlie is especially enjoying all the “food and attention.”