Missing cat stuns Oz owners with epic 1-year, 1300km journey

Melbourne, July 30 (ANI): A family in Brisbane, Australia were left stunned when their tomcat Timothy was found more than 1300km from home alive and well after going missing for a year.

The black and white tabby was found living with two other cats in a house a local Townsville resident had just moved into, and she handed him over to the RSPCA shelter. routine check for a microchip revealed that he belonged to a family from the Brisbane suburb of Bald Hills and had been missing since August last year.

Owner Camilla Brooks was relieved to learn the family's beloved pet was still alive.

"It's just amazing, I'm so excited to have him back," News.com.au quoted her as saying.

"When he went missing, we did letter drops and all those sorts of things around the area but we heard nothing. We had to assume the worst," she said.

RSPCA shelter manager Caroline Shemwell said Timothy may have been taken in by a Brisbane family who then moved to Townsville or he may have hitched a ride on a removals truck.

But, given his condition when he arrived at the shelter, she believes someone must have been caring for Timothy for the past 12 months.

Timothy will be flown down to his family this weekend, and though they are excited about the reunion, they say it will be a bit strange to see him now.

"He was six months old when I last saw him, so he's an adult cat now," Brooks added. (ANI)