A cat who disappeared almost seven years ago has been reunited with his family in Glasgow – after being taken in accidentally by a family friend.
The long-lost pet, a grey male tabby called Kylo, disappeared when he was just over a year old on Boxing Day 2017, after following owner Gavin Hopper outside as he walked his dog in Maryhill Park.
However Kylo failed to return home and despite searching for weeks, Gavin and wife Frankie feared something had happened to their pet.
But in a surprising turn of events, the Summerston couple were contacted two weeks ago to say Kylo had finally been found – after being accidentally taken in by a friend’s aunt in Bishopbriggs.
“He always used to follow Gavin and the dog, but he hadn’t followed that far before,” Frankie told STV News.
“It had snowed slightly, so perhaps that affected his scent. Then he just didn’t come back.
“We searched for weeks and weeks. We put flyers up. It didn’t come to anything, so we registered him missing with his chip.
Frankie Hopper via Supplied“We just assumed something terrible had happened.”
However Kylo had accidentally found himself a new home – mistakenly thought to be a female cat and renamed Poppy.
For the past six years Kylo had been living with the woman, who was unaware the cat was missing until she took him to the vets to be vaccinated.
His microchip was scanned by the practice and the woman was shocked to discover her pet had a whole other family.
Gavin and Frankie were shocked to receive the call that their now eight-year-old cat had finally been found.
Frankie said: “I couldn’t believe it. For a whole week I thought I was in a dream. It just didn’t feel real.
“I mean for all I knew he could have been on the other side of the world. Turns out he had just kept turning up at this woman’s door in Bishopbriggs and had eventually been taken in.”
Frankie Hopper via SuppliedFrankie was surprised even further when she found out that Kylo’s temporary owner was an auntie of a close friend.
The connection was made when her friend noticed the two simultaneously posting about losing and gaining a cat on social media on the same day.
“I then got a call from my friend,” Frankie added. “She just said ‘my auntie has had your cat’.”
Kylo has now settled back home – after a week of not responding to his name – and is confirmed to be fit and healthy.
However, Frankie confirmed there is “not a chance” of Kylo getting let outside.
“I’m too scared he’ll go AWOL again”, she added.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
