Fergus has been reunited with his family thanks to his microchip, after turning up 80 miles away from home.

When a stray cat was reported to our Aberdeen Branch after being seen hanging around a local recycling centre, a volunteer went to investigate.

They eventually managed to track down the tabby and scanned him for a microchip, which revealed just how far he had travelled from home.

Using the phone number connected to the chip, the branch called owner Fiona Mutter with the news that her missing cat Fergus had been found, some 80 miles away from her address in Forres.

“It was such a surprise to get the call that Fergus was alive,” said Fiona. “He was always prone to wandering and would sometimes go off for a few days at a time, but one day he just never came back. We sadly assumed something had happened to him.

“To hear that he was still alive and had ended up so far away was such a shock. We adopted Fergus as a kitten from Cats Protection and he’d been with us for four years before he disappeared.

Fergus and his owner Fiona

“When he returned home, we put him in the spare bedroom where it was quiet so he could get used to being in the house, and then introduced him slowly to our other cat, Ozzy. He was soon happy to be handled and stroked; he has such a loud purr! I did buy him a cat bed but he prefers lying on the actual bed!”

It remains a mystery as to where Fergus may have been for the past 11 years, but it is likely that at some point he travelled in a vehicle to Aberdeen.

“His coat is so shiny, and he’s so friendly, that there’s no way he has been living outside all this time,” added Fiona. “Someone has been taking good care him.

“We are extremely grateful to the Cats Protection volunteer who went above and beyond to get Fergus home.”

Cats Protection is campaigning for compulsory microchipping of pet cats across the UK, as is already the case for dogs. In England, the measure is expected to be introduced during 2022, but we are concerned cats in Scotland are being left behind.

Cats Protection’s Advocacy & Government Relations Officer for Scotland, Alice Palombo, said: “Every day we see how important microchipping is for cats and for the people who care for them – whether it’s reuniting a lost cat with their owner, identifying an injured cat, or helping to ensure an owner can be informed in the sad event that their cat has been hit and killed by a car.

“With compulsory microchipping for pet cats in England due to be introduced in 2022, we’re concerned that cats in Scotland may be left behind. We’re calling on the Scottish Government to introduce regulations to make microchipping of pet cats compulsory in Scotland.”

Take a look at our cat welfare action plan for Scotland and how you can get involved in our campaigns.