Couple reunites with cat that’s been missing for ten years

A Birmingham couple have reunited with their beloved cat that went missing a decade ago. The furry companion, Big Ginge, was last seen by its owners in 2011 while on their honeymoon.

Missing!

Colin Clayton and Eva Bellamy took their three cats with them on their staycation honeymoon near Fradley Junction, 25 miles from their Birmingham home. The couple recall that at the time, it was normal for the cats to hop on and off the canal boat they lived on.

They always found their way home, and so the pair were surprised when one day Big Ginge failed to return to the boat. They spent five days fruitlessly searching the area for him. Colin, 61, said:

Whenever we took the cats on holiday there had never been any issue with them finding their way back, although sometimes we might have had to stay an extra night if they didn’t return in time. The others came back as normal but Big Ginge didn’t, so we stayed an extra five days and walked for miles around the area calling out his name and putting up posters.

He was registered as missing on his microchip when it was time for them to leave.

Ten years later, the couple received an unexpected call to say that their cat had been found in Staffordshire.

The Mystery of Marmalade

Sue Hocknell, from the Cats Protection Lichfield and Tamworth branch, spent three weeks trying to catch the lost kitty, nicknamed Marmalade. She said:

We learned about a stray in Lichfield earlier this year, who we called Marmalade. I spent three weeks every evening attempting to trap him so I can could scan for a microchip, but he was having none of it.

Thankfully, a local started to feed him and gained his trust, so Sue was able to go and collect the cat from the man’s flat. He had a lump on his flank.

Big Ginge was taken to a vet and that was when his identity was revealed, and he was returned to his original family.

Colin said the lost but found feline will now be a house cat.

For now we will be keeping him indoors. Big Ginge has had enough stress in his life and we are confident it will all work out.