Purrfect: Cat returns to family after eight-year absence

A Melbourne cat has somehow found its way back home after it went missing eight years ago.

It was a special surprise for Sylvie's owners, who had given up all hope of seeing her again.

Evie Crossland was a toddler when her six-month-old cat Sylvie vanished.

Now, after eight years, the family can't believe she's back.

"I just burst into tears," owner Felicity Crossland said.

"Couldn't believe it, went into shock - pretty much thought she was gone forever."

Six-year-old Quinn wasn't even born when the purebred British shorthair wandered off in 2009.

Then out of the blue Sylvie was handed in to a local animal shelter by the family of an elderly lady who had cared for her all these years.

Her owners had no idea Sylvie was living just a kilometre from home and just two doors up from where husband Steve plays bowls.

"She must have been kept inside for all those years," Steve said.

"I knew she was somewhere, but to get her back like that was pretty surreal."

Sylvie is perfectly well but a little overweight and will soon be placed on a diet, according to her original owners.