INDY100 – A Darlington woman whose cat had been missing for four months described how “heartache” changed to disbelief when she learned her beloved pet had been found in Inverness – more than 300 miles away.
Sophie Carty, 25, was “devastated” when her cat Luna disappeared from their home in November 2024, and spent weeks searching and calling her name, fearing the worst as heavy snows and storms hit the country.
In March, however, she received a call to say Luna was alive, and had been found locked in a shed at an Inverness hotel.
I couldn’t believe it, that was around a six-hour drive from where Luna went missing
She had been taken to a local vet where her microchip, which had been registered with the Petlog lost-and-found database and contained her owner’s contact details, was scanned.
Ms Carty described her shock at hearing the news, and said: “After four months of heartache, I received a call from Highland Vet Referrals saying Luna had been brought into the surgery, and she was alive and doing well, despite being very thin.
“I was inconsolable and asked where she was, that’s when the vet told me she was in Inverness in Scotland.
“I couldn’t believe it, that was around a six-hour drive from where Luna went missing. We travelled the long journey to collect her and brought her home.”
Luna was in a “fragile” state when she returned, and was suffering from malnourishment, an infection and suspected nerve damage.
“On her first couple of nights home, Luna was in a very bad way, very tired and looked to be paralysed on her back end,” Ms Carty said.
“However, after a trip to the vets, antibiotics and painkillers, she is like a new cat.
“She is up and moving (with assistance) and is happy to be home with us … ”
