Missing cat found 11 years after escaping from owner's car
A missing cat has been returned to her owner 11 years after she escaped from her car.
Eve McDonnell, 72, was left devastated when Missy climbed through the sunroof when she stopped to buy milk in Birmingham on 23 April, 2009.
She had not realised her pet was asleep in the back seat after hitching a ride.
Despite a wide-scale search, the cat was never found and McDonnell gave up all hope of ever seeing her again.
But last week, McDonnell was left stunned when a cat rescue centre got in touch to say Missy had been found living on the streets eight miles away from her home.
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Residents in Hall Green, Birmingham, had spotted the stray cat living among rubbish and sleeping on top of a bin where she became known locally as "the driveway cat."
Footage captured the moment McDonnell was reunited with Missy at her home in Harborne, Birmingham, on Monday after 11 years of being apart.
McDonnell can be heard saying "Oh My God" and "I'm so emotional, I'm going to cry" as Missy, now 17, navigates the house for the first time in over a decade.
Retired hairdresser McDonnell said: "I never stopped thinking about her. You just don't forget your pets - they are irreplaceable.
"She's had a rough time, but she's still my cat. I can't believe she's alive."
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Missy was recently spotted by Ali Shah and his mum Salma, who fed and sheltered her for several days.
The pair then took her to Little Haven Rescue in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, on 22 February.
Rescue centre owner Clare Davis, 46, took the emaciated cat to an emergency vet’s where a microchip was discovered and traced back to McDonnell.
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Davis said: “I’ve never had a rescue that has been missing for so long.
“I’ve returned cats that have been missing for two or three years but ten years is pretty unbelievable.
“I’m delighted to have reunited Missy with her owner. Missy had had a terrible time living rough for all those years.
She added: “How Missy survived all those years is by being a typical Missy.
“She was able to fend for herself and source food. She’s a very intelligent cat and it’s a miracle she survived.”
