Microchip helps missing cat Chloe find her way home.

As well as finding unwanted cats loving new homes, Cats Protection also reunites thousands of lost moggies with their relieved owners each year.

This is made much easier if the cat is microchipped and its details are up to date as after a quick scan they can be back home within a day or two.

Without microchipping, Chloe, a 12-year-old white-and-tortoiseshell cat from Wales, could still be living as a stray on the streets while her owners worry about her at home.

Chloe went missing the day after her owners moved from Ammanford to Skewen in 2014. Four years later, Mandy Hughes, a volunteer for Cats Protection’s Swansea Branch received a phone call about a stray cat.

“I was called to a house in Birchgrove to scan a stray cat that had been around for a month,” said Mandy. “This came about by chance, because an older lady I had helped in the past was catching the bus into town and started a conversation with a 93-year-old lady who told her about the stray cat she was feeding and then contacted me.”

With a quick scan, Mandy was surprised to discover that the cat was microchipped and was in fact only a mile away from home.

Delyth Thomas, Chloe’s owner, was ecstatic to receive the call to say her beloved moggy had been found. When she first went missing, she had put up posters in the area and posted messages on social media, but although she never received a response, she never gave up hope of finding her.

“I still can’t believe that Chloe has been found and I am so grateful to Mandy from Cats Protection,” said Delyth. “My two foster sons and my daughter are delighted. Chloe recognised us all straight away.”

Mandy added: “This amazing story shows the importance of microchipping cats and keeping the contact details up to date. We were able to reunite Chloe with her overjoyed owners within two hours of her being found – without a microchip, sadly that may never have happened.”

To find out more about microchipping and what to do if you find a stray cat, visit https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/neutering-and-vaccinations/microchipping-your-cat