A HITCH-HIKING cat is back home after two years on the road, thanks to a security guard and a group of volunteers from Coventry.
Ruby, the five-year-old missing moggy, disappeared in April 2018 from Brogborough in Bedforshire where she lived with her sister Lacey and owner Jordan Harvey.
He kept the pair as house cats as he lived close to the M1.
When Ruby escaped he feared the worst and after extensive searches he was worried he would never see his beloved pet again.
In a cruel twist of fate Lacey also escaped not long afterwards and was killed after being hit by a car.
Then 30 months later he received a message from Coventry’s Cat Protection branch saying Ruby had been found.
Ruby, who Jordan believes may have jumped into the cab of a lorry at a truck stop near his home, was discovered on an industrial estate in Exhall, where kind-hearted security guard Leighton had been feeding her.
When the little black moggy was still receiving daily meals after three weeks he contacted his local branch of the feline welfare charity for help finding out whether she was owned.
Volunteer Lorraine visited the site and scanned Ruby’s microchip, finding her home on the database.
They called the number but it was unobtainable so she emailed an address also registered.
After not hearing back she sent a letter to the linked address.
Lorraine said: “It is really important to try every avenue to locate an owner if a stray cat is chipped and to leave no stone unturned as was proven when my phone rang and Jordan said he had received my letter.
“He was so emotional and couldn’t believe we had found Ruby.
“All he kept saying was ‘wow, wow’.”
Leighton Myers found Ruby and fed her daily. s
During the search for Jordan, Lorraine returned to the industrial estate for five nights in a row to care for Ruby while Leighton took work breaks.
As soon as Jordan rang, Lorraine went back to the site and coaxed Ruby inside with food before calling Jordan to say she was safely in her care.
Jordan immediately set off on the 110 mile round-trip to collect his beloved cat who recognised him instantly and walked straight to him when he arrived.
Jordan said: “After Ruby went missing I was heartbroken and Lacey felt like my only companion.
“I was in a really dark place after she then got hit by a car so to get the call to say Ruby had been found was like winning the lottery.
“I can’t explain how happy I was.
“Now she’s back at home enjoying lots of strokes and it’s like she never left.
“She seemed to know where she was as we drove up to the house and as soon as I got her old scratcher out she went right up and started using it before having a look round then taking up her original favourite spot on the windowsill.
“I’m absolutely buzzing from the whole experience.
“I’m so glad I kept Ruby’s microchip up to date.
“Without it there’s no way she’d be back with me.”
He urged all cat owners to get their cats microchipped and to keep the details up-to-date.
The Cats Protection charity has launched a petition to make microchipping for cats mandatory, as it is with dogs.
Visit cats.org.uk/microchippingpetition to sign it.
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