A CAT lost in Wellington for several weeks has been re-united with its owners despite them having moved to live in the south of France.

Black cat Mia’s owner had been living in Crosslands, Wellington, for several years after moving from France but she decided to return to the Continent in February.

However, Mia ran off from her owner’s campervan as she prepared with her young daughter for their journey to France.

The woman delayed her return to France for three weeks while she tried to find Mia but eventually had to give up and make the move. 

Mia was seen wandering in the Ford Street area and after two months a resident took the cat to Mount Veterinary Hospital, Wellington, where staff checked her microchip details.

However, the details were out of date and the veterinary hospital put out a social media appeal for help to find Mia’s owners.

The appeal was seen by Wellington friends of the owner who were able to tell veterinary staff she had moved to France.

Now, Mount Vets have been in touch with the woman and is arranging for Mia to be sent to France where her owner is setting up an animal sanctuary on 12 acres of land she has bought.

Mount Vets marketing manager Genna Snow said Mia had been fully vaccinated to move abroad before she went missing. 

Ms Snow said: “The owner has a young daughter who is very fond of the cat and she is excited that she is going to be re-united with her. 

“She is obviously a much-loved cat. 

“We were delighted to have tracked down Mia’s owner. We enjoy helping out our clients as much as we can.”

Mia, who is currently being fostered until the move, will be accompanied on the journey to France by three Exmoor ponies who will also live in the sanctuary with the owner’s other two cats and two dogs.

Ms Snow said it was a rare case where a pet was able to be reunited with its owner after such a long time and it showed the importance of microchipping.

She said: “Luckily, this story has a happy ending. 

“But we would like to take this opportunity to remind owners to change their pet’s microchip details if they have moved home or their contact details have changed. 

“Not every pet is as lucky as Mia.”

In the search for Mia’s owners, Mount Vets used the French microchip database ‘Identificationdescarnivoresdomestiques’ (I-CAD), which is the largest in Europe dedicated to ‘carnivorous’ pets, holding information on animals such as cats, dogs, and ferrets.

Ms Snow said: “We are a large veterinary hospital and we have grown very, very big in the last few years.

“We started with four consulting rooms when we built the premises, now we are coming up to 10 which shows the growth in the business, and we are always hiring new staff to meet the demand.”

Mount Vets, which has also had a surgery in High Street, Wiveliscombe, for several years now has about 70 staff in its small animal’s and farm animal’s clinics.