Blackjack cc White Cross Vets

The cat, named Blackjack, was last seen in early 2017, shortly before he was booked in to be neutered.

At the time his owner, Rachael Pawley, was moored on a narrowboat on the Aire and Calder Navigation, near Leeds at Thwaite Mills.

Rachael searched for several months for Blackjack, but eventually gave up hope of ever seeing him again.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

Blackjack cc White Cross Vets

She even thought she had spotted him a few times near their home at Leeds’ Parcelforce depot, but he never responded to her calls.

Then when she moved to a new house in Yeadon, she was convinced that she’d never find out what had happened to Blackjack.

However, Rachael was left stunned when Cat Action Trust called her to say five-year-old Blackjack had been found.

The charity then took him to White Cross Vets in Roundhay to be neutered, before the pair were reunited, along with his sister Molly, who also lives with Rachael.

Catherine Gordon, from White Cross Vets in Roundhay, said: “Blackjack being reunited with his owner after all this time reinforces how important it is to microchip pets and keep their contact details up to date.

"Without this, Rachael would have always wondered about what could have happened to Blackjack.

"This case also shows that despite his best efforts, Blackjack couldn’t avoid being neutered, even though he soon realised it’s a quick and easy operation that’s nothing to be afraid of!”

Rachael, who has a dog walking business called Bob and Pals, explained: “Blackjack has always been adventurous and would sometimes disappear for a week or two, but when the months started to pass, we knew it was unlikely we’d ever see him again.

"We’d just booked him in to be neutered and it almost felt as though he could sense it, and that’s why he ran away!

“Although I occasionally thought I spotted him when we were driving past the Parcelforce depot and stopped to check, he never came to me, so I presumed I must have been mistaken.

“However, that’s where Cat Action Trust found him.

"The charity was tracking two sets of kittens living in the depot and Blackjack was with them, and it looks like he’s their dad – so at least he didn’t shun his responsibilities as a parent!

“We couldn’t believe it when we saw him again and although he was scared at first when we brought him home, he quickly settled again.

"Unfortunately, he can’t go out anymore because he now has feline immunodeficiency virus, which is like HIV, but only affects cats, and there’s a chance he could spread the disease, so he has to be an indoor cat now.”