Erdington: Missing cat returns – two years after it disappeared

Everyone needs a little distance from their family sometimes, and a walk is a great way to get it.

Coming back two years later is a bit hard though.

Shadow the cat burst out the front door of his home in Erdington, Birmingham in March 2021 and has had quite the adventure since.

Mother Jo Wimpory, 56, and her son Edward, 11, launched a frantic search, knocking on doors, ringing vets and putting up missing posters.

They even sat in a graveyard where people had seen him. But they were unlucky and ended up having to get on with their lives without their pet.

Jo said: “He never came back – it was sad and we missed him. My son Edward and Shadow bonded fairly quickly.

“After eight months I thought someone else had taken it, but I never took down the posters.”

The family were shocked when they received a call from Vets 4 Pets in the nearby town of Sutton Coldfield on Friday to say they had scanned a stray cat and found the family’s details.

Jo said: “I literally yelled at my son to stop what he was doing and we went straight to the vet – it was Shadow.

“We are very slow at bringing him back to life in our home. We also have two other cats.

“He has a good appetite and drank a lot of water last night. I’ll make sure he doesn’t go away, I’m hoping to put one of those GPS collars on.

‘I wish he could talk and tell me what he’s up to. He is very thin, has a flea allergy and has suffered cuts.

“But he’s still a friendly little boy. As he is injured it is difficult to touch him.’

Shadow is certainly not the only cat who needs a lot of space from his family.

The cat Basil disappeared from his home in Ilford, east London, in 2012 and was only reunited with his owners last September – nine years later.

His disappearance left the Wilby family distraught as they put up posters and knocked on doors to try to find him.

But they never gave up hope as the years passed and they finally moved.

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