Kunkush in Greece (Picture: GoFundMe)

A ‘refugee cat’ has flown more than 2,000 miles to be reunited with his Iraqi family in Norway, after getting lost in Greece.

Kunkush, a white Turkish Van cat, became separated from his owners as they travelling from war-torn Iraq for a better life in Europe.

The family trekked all the way across Turkey with the tiny animal, before taking a rubber dingy over to the Greek island of Lesvos.

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Hello! Thank you for taking time to hear my story. They call me Dias here. My family and I are from Mosul, Iraq and I… Posted by Reunite Dias on Tuesday, December 22, 2015

It was on this Greek island where they lost track of Kunkush, thinking they would never see him again.



They searched but eventually the family were forced to continue their journey across Europe without him, leaving the refugee cat to fend for himself on the streets.

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But his story was far from over, with Kunkush being found by aid volunteers in the fishing village of Skala a short while afterwards.

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Said goodbye to those on Lesvos. It's been a tough day but today, head to Berlin!The guy with the hat in the photo is… Posted by Reunite Dias on Monday, January 4, 2016

He had been bullied by the Greek cats on the island and his fluffy white fur was covered in dirt and matted.

The volunteers named him ‘Dias’, after the Greek pronunciation of the ancient god Zeus, and fed, watered, took him to the vet and had him fitted with a microchip.

He was then sent to Germany to stay with a foster family, while the volunteers tried to figure out how to find his family.

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This is where social media came in and Facebook page ReuniteDias was started as well as a GoFundMe page to raise fund for the eventual reunion. Flyers were also distributed.

And he quickly gather fans, with nearly 5,000 supporters getting involved in the campaign.

Unbelievably, they actually managed to track down his family, originally from Mosul, Iraq, on Valentine’s Day thousands of miles away in Norway.

It's Throwback Thursday! Here is a photo the family provided to us. This was taken back in Iraq.We want to take this… Geplaatst door Reunite Dias op Donderdag 18 februari 2016

Having located both cat and owner, the volunteers were first able to put Kunkush back in touch with his family via an emotional Skype reunion.

They confirmed they had the right pairing by comparing Kunkush’s appearance to family photos taken back in Iraq during happier times.

And now, in an emotional meeting last night, Kunkush has finally made it back to his family after being flown an incredible 2,000 miles across Europe.

We had a Skype reunion today! A lot of happy tears were shed. Kunkush was looking behind the computer, trying to find… Geplaatst door Reunite Dias op Dinsdag 16 februari 2016

Amy Shrodes, an American nurse who organised medical care for refugees on Lesvos, was determined to see Kunkush fly to his family’s new home in Norway and bought the cat a £470 air ticket, with extra funds raised through an online giving page.

It is, perhaps, the purrfect ending.

Ross Kempsell is a contributor for Metro.co.uk. Follow him on Twitter here and his blog www.rosskempsell.com