Lost cat Harry is reunited with his owners ten YEARS after the white and ginger moggie went missing after escaping from their garden

  • The cat, named Harry, vanished from a house in Great Yarmouth, Suffolk in 2008
  • His owner Mark Salisbury, 39, truly believed he would never see the cat again
  • Harry was found and taken to a centre 60 miles away in Ipswich earlier this year
  • The missing cat had been living with an elderly man who recently passed away
  • A concerned neighbour brought him to the centre who tracked him back to Mark

By George Martin For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A lost cat has finally been reunited with his owners, ten years after escaping from a family garden.

Harry the white and ginger moggie vanished from his home in Great Yarmouth, Suffolk, in 2008 when he was just a kitten.

His owner Mark Salisbury, 39, thought he'd never see Harry again but never gave up hope of finding him - and kept his details up to date on the cat's microchip.

But Mark was left gobsmacked after being told Harry had been found and taken into the Blue Cross animal centre 60 miles away in Ipswich, Suffolk

Vets were told his elderly owner had died but when they used a micro-chip scanner to trace him - they found Harry actually belonged to Mark.

Harry the cat relaxing on a sofa in his owner's home having been reunited after 10 years away

Harry the cat relaxing on a sofa in his owner's home having been reunited after 10 years away

Mark's mum Carolyn Clark (right) agreed to keep Harry after collecting him from the animal shelter on behalf of her son

Mark's mum Carolyn Clark (right) agreed to keep Harry after collecting him from the animal shelter on behalf of her son

Susie Winship, from Blue Cross Suffolk, said: 'Harry was brought to us by the neighbour of an elderly gentleman that had taken Harry in approximately 10 years ago.

'The gentleman had sadly passed away and the neighbour was keen to find someone to look after Harry.

'We scanned Harry for a microchip following his admission and found that he was chipped to a Mark Salisbury.' 

Mark said he always felt that Harry was still roaming the streets and never wanted to give up on him.

He said: 'He didn't turn up one day when I was calling the pair of them in.

'But after 10 years, you think that's it and you make peace with that.'

'I could never quite bring myself to cancel the microchip though.'

Harry is now living with Mark's mum Carolyn Clark, in Gloucester.

Carolyn, 63, said: 'It was amazing news.

Harry's owner Mark decided to keep his microchip active despite having not seen him for 10 years

Harry's owner Mark decided to keep his microchip active despite having not seen him for 10 years

'When Mark rang me up and said the news, I really couldn't believe it.

'We saw him as a kitten when Mark first got Harry - we have love having him back.

'We collected him from Blue Cross - he is a lovely cat and very chilled.

'He likes to sleep a lot and likes to have company.

'It is very important that people get their kittens and pets micro chipped.

'And when people see a lost cat they shouldn't assume it is a stray because someone might have lost their cat.

'They should always take it to the vets and see if they have been micro chipped.'

Susie Winship added: 'We contacted Mark and discovered that Harry had strayed 10 years previously.

'Mark hadn't given up hope of finding him again and despite a subsequent move to Wales Mark kept Harry's microchip details up to date.

'Mark had been scheduled to visit Japan for work in the days after we called so it was agreed his mum Carolyn would collect Harry on his behalf.

'Carolyn came to collect the following day and decided (with the agreement of Mark) Harry would stay with her in Gloucestershire.'

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