A beloved cat has returned home a decade after disappearing without a trace. Charlie vanished in April 2016, just days after owners Lucy and Hannah Robertson moved to a new area, leaving the family fearing they would never see her again.
A decade-long disappearance
The tabby, then three, was used to spending her days outdoors but failed to come home after wandering off from the family’s new property. Lucy said: “It was heart breaking. We were scared that she had been knocked over or that she wasn’t around any more.” Hannah, 37, had moved a few miles from Newbridge to Abercarn, in Caerphilly, south Wales, when Charlie disappeared within just three days.
The pair spent months desperately searching for Charlie and appealed for information online, but despite a handful of possible sightings they were never able to track her down and there was no sign of their pet. Hannah said: “We did have one or two tip-offs… we tried to find her, but we kept missing her.” She told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: “We never lost hope. But sadly, we just couldn’t find her.” Years passed with no answers, until the family eventually received a call they never thought would come.
A birthday surprise
On July 29 - Lucy’s 30th birthday - Hannah was left “gobsmacked” when a veterinary practice in Abercarn contacted her to say Charlie had been found. A person living nearby had spotted the cat living among bushes and had been feeding the supposed stray for several weeks before eventually taking her to a vet. Staff scanned Charlie for a microchip and found Hannah’s contact details - revealing that the friendly tabby had actually been missing for 10 years. The vet was shocked when she discovered how long Charlie had been gone.
Despite her decade-long disappearance, the now 13-year-old cat was found in remarkably good condition. Her fur was healthy and she did not appear “dishevelled”, leaving her family wondering where she had been all those years. “She’s been on an adventure,” Hannah said, and that she guessed “we’ll never know” what happened to Charlie.
Settling back in
But there was little doubt Charlie remembered the family she had left behind. Lucy said their beloved pet recognised them “straight away”, describing it as “lovely, because we didn’t expect that”. She said: “She doesn’t look much different at all, she looks exactly the same as the old photos we have of her.”
Charlie is now settling back into family life, although sharing her home with the family’s other pets has taken some adjustment. Lucy said that it “is a bit of a work in progress” getting her used to living with their other pets, but they’re getting there. After all those years away, Charlie appears to be making the most of being back home - particularly when it comes to the “food and attention”. Lucy added: “Right now I feel like she knows she’s a bit of a celebrity.”
