A cat which disappeared just as Gordon Brown was taking over as prime minister 14 years ago returned home.
Elsa was two when she began spending longer and longer out of owner Ruth Armstrong’s home – until one day in June 2007 she just didn’t come back.
But Mrs Armstrong told how she was stunned to receive a call from a nearby veterinary surgery a few weeks ago to say they had her cat – after staff scanned Elsa’s microchip.
Elsa was two when she began spending longer and longer out of owner Ruth Armstrong’s home – until one day in June 2007 she just didn’t come back
It disappeared as Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister 14 years back
‘Because I have other cats I told the surgery they couldn’t have my cat because they were all at home,’ said Mrs Armstrong.
‘It never occurred to me it could be Elsa. When they said it was Elsa, my jaw dropped to the ground. I still find myself looking at her, wondering about everything she has been through.’
Recalling the time when her pet went missing, Mrs Armstrong, a fitness instructor and mother of one from Hinckley, Leicestershire, said: ‘She was spending progressively longer outside the house. She disappeared for good.
‘We looked for her for a long, long, time but eventually I figured she wasn’t coming back.’
It turned out that Elsa had been living on an industrial estate a mile from home – where factory workers had been giving her food and water.
Mrs Armstrong and Elsa were reunited after Elsa had a benign tumor on her right leg. Workers at the factory contacted RSPCA who brought Elsa to Park Vet Group in Glenfield (Leicester) where she was microchipped.
It turned out that Elsa had been living on an industrial estate a mile from home – where factory workers had been giving her food and water
Mrs Armstrong, fifty, stated that the case showed the value of microchipping cats. The Government had announced earlier this month that every pet cat over 20 weeks old will need to have a microchip by 2023. This brings them in line with dog companions.
Elsa had to go under the knife to remove the tumor and cyst earlier in the month. Her vet hopes she can enjoy her golden years.
Mrs Armstrong is keeping Elsa away from her other five cats and four dogs until she recovers, adding: ‘She will not be going out.
‘She will be the most pampered house cat in the world.’