A cat missing for 11 years was reunited with his owner in upstate New York last week, thanks to the dogged work of an animal shelter worker.

For the last three years, the lost kitty, a tabby named Tiger, had been roaming around outside Dutchess County SPCA employee Carol O’Connell’s house, the shelter wrote on Facebook.

The staffer was recently able to get close to the stray cat, and, on a whim, checked to see if he was micro-chipped.

“With information from the chip, we were able to locate the owner, and discovered the cat had been missing for 11 years!” the SPCA said.

Tiger, now 14, was reunited with his “mom,” identified only as Maggie, on Tuesday.

A heartwarming photo shows Maggie cradling Tiger, as the kitty nuzzles up against her.