A wanderlusting cat has been found NINE MONTHS after vanishing 200 miles away from her home.
Michelle Cairney was left heartbroken when 16-year-old Indy went missing.
The 43-year-old and her husband George, 47, moved house in August last year.
But black moggy Indy – who they’d had since she was a kitten – disappeared days later.
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Michelle, of Glasgow, Scotland had all but given up hope of seeing her again.
But then, out of the blue, they got a call from a cat charity saying she had been found, in Great Harwood, near Blackburn, Lancs.
The puss had been sleeping rough in an old PRAM in a SHED.
Cat Friends of Hyndburn were able to contact them because Indy was microchipped.
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Michelle and George then headed on the 11 hour round trip to pick up Indy on Sunday (14 Apr).
The couple and the charity have been left baffled as to how she got there.
Indy was malnourished and covered in fleas but is now on the mend.
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Care home assistant manager Michelle told What’s The Jam: “George took the call and was so shocked Indy had been found he had to pull over.
“We honestly thought we’d never see her again, but we are both delighted.”
She added: “This just goes to prove how vital it is to get your cat microchipped.
“And I would urge every cat owner to do just that.
“No one wants to go through the pain that we have or see their cat in the condition Indy was in.”
Indy was found last Thursday (11 Apr) and the Cairneys were called the following day (12 Apr).
A Cat Friends of Hyndburn spokesperson said: “We were alerted to a cat in an extremely poor condition.
“When we say poor condition, we mean the worst condition we’ve seen a cat in, in quite some time.
“Even our vet commented that he hadn’t seen a cat in such a poor condition in a very long time
“She was suffering from horrific mange and almost skeletal.
“This poor cat had apparently been straying around Great Harwood for a few months, sleeping in an old pram in a shed.
“Lots of people must have seen her in this condition in that time and done nothing at all to help her.
They added: “We knew we needed to get her to a vets ASAP and luckily for her and us the lovely lady that reported her to us was a natural cat catcher and managed to entice her into an outhouse.
“Not only was she microchipped but even better than that the phone number on the chip was up to date.
“To our complete shock and amazement, Indy is 16 years old and has been missing for nine whole months all the way from Glasgow.
“You heard that right, this little cat has somehow found herself over 200 miles away from home.
“We contacted her owners and the poor chap had to pull over and ring us back he was in so much shock. In a thick Scottish accent he said, ‘It’s a real shockerooo’.
“Goodness knows how she managed to get all the way here and survive all these months outside.”
Local Maureen Woodhouse said: “Wow, she must have jumped in a van or something.”
Heather Astin added: “This is fantastic.
“Wish more people were like this.”
Alison Murray said: “Amazing and wonderful.
“So so happy for wee Indy and her owners.
“Well done everyone involved.”
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