A TABBY cat named Ethan has been reunited with his owner after being missing for five years.

When Ethan was brought to Animals in Distress Rescue Centre last week he went by Rupert.

‘Rupert’ had been living in Torquay after being taken in by someone who thought him a stray.

Sadly, this owner passed away.

And so when staff at the Ipplepen-based rescue centre scanned ‘Rupert’ for a microchip they were surprised to find that he was registered to a different owner.

After phoning the number on the microchip, staff learned that ‘Rupert’ was actually named Ethan, and he had been missing from his original home for five years.

Ethan's original owner, Ian Haskins, who now lives in Exeter, was both shocked and over the moon to hear that Animals in Distress had his long lost boy.

Ian came straight over to the centre where both he and Ethan were extremely happy to see each other again.

Ian said: ‘I am still in shock.

‘We have missed him so much!

‘He is such a calm cat and he sleeps on the bed cuddled up on the pillows.

Rowana Rowan, Communications Co-ordinator and Fundraiser at Animals in Distress, said: ‘We love it so much when things work out like this!

‘This story shows the importance of microchipping cats, as without the chip Ethan would never have found his way home.

‘Ethan’s interim owner, who took him in as a stray, had the best of intentions and cared for him very well.

‘However, Ethan’s story also shows how important it is to take any ‘stray’ cats you find to a vets or a rescue to have them scanned for a microchip before taking them in.

‘They may well be someone’s long lost cat, and very missed.

‘We are just delighted that this story has a happy ending for both Ethan and Ian’.