Janet Adamowicz was heartbroken when Boo, her beloved cat, ran away from home back in 2005 aged just four. She did everything she could to find Boo, placing ‘missing’ posters around her hometown of Harrogate, England, and even put an ad about her in the local paper.

After a year of fruitless searching, Janet gave up hope and eventually decided to give a home to two other cats, first Ollie in 2008, and then Tessie in 2014. That was that, she thought. She could only hope that Boo had found another home and was alive and well. But then, 13 years later, she got a call out of the blue. “I got a call on Thursday to say I had a cat missing,” Janet said. “I said ‘I don’t think I do, they’re both here’ – but they said we’ve looked on the system it says you own a cat called Boo. I thought it was weird, but I couldn’t believe it when I got to the vets and they had her there – and she still remembered me.”

“I don’t know where she had been, I think possibly a stray but kept being fed by strangers – or catching her own food.”

Boo was in surprisingly good health for her age and fending for herself for all those years, showing only signs of tiredness and a little dehydration. She was taken to Wicstun Vets in York by an anonymous woman, with no other information other than the fact that the cat had been found in a town 40 miles away and had been lurking around for a few weeks.

“Boo was very lively as a young kitten and enjoyed the outdoors and adventuring – but would always return home,” Janet explained. “We don’t know how she got all those 40 miles, it could have been any number of reasons. She has done well as a 17-year-old cat to last that long as a stray cat – it really is remarkable.”

“Despite only being five-years-old she still remembers me and has been my shadow ever since coming home. The other two cats are not impressed, but hopefully Boo is finally home for good.”

According to the vets where Boo was returned to, there were emotional scenes when the pair were finally reunited. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the building,” a spokesperson for the vet said. “Boo recognised her mum straight away and within minutes the two were thoroughly enjoying plenty of face rubs, cuddles and meows.”

They had used microchip data from 2001 to make the link, matching up Boo’s name with Janet’s mobile number. The vets used the opportunity to urge all pet owners have their cats micro-chipped just in case they go missing, because as this story proves, you just never know! Scroll down below to see Boo’s remarkable story for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!

This is Boo, 4-years-old when she went missing back in 2005

Image credits: SWNS

Her heartbroken owner, Janet Adamowicz, searched high and low for a year before finally giving up

Image credits: SWNS

But then, 13 years later, she got a call out of the blue from a vet 40 miles away

“I got a call on Thursday to say I had a cat missing,” Janet said

Image credits: SWNS

“I thought it was weird, but I couldn’t believe it when I got to the vets and they had her there and she still remembered me”

Image credits: SWNS

“I don’t know where she had been, I think possibly a stray but kept being fed by strangers or catching her own food”

Image credits: SWNS

There were emotional scenes when the pair were finally reunited

Image credits: SWNS

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the building”

Image credits: SWNS

“Boo recognised her mum straight away and within minutes the two were thoroughly enjoying plenty of face rubs, cuddles and meows”

Image credits: SWNS

The pair were able to be reunited thanks to info stored on a microchip, it’s important to always chip your cat!

Image credits: SWNS

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