Cat reunited with owner 12 years after disappearing from family home: 'Didn't feel real'

A cat has finally been reunited with its owner — 12 years after disappearing from the family home.

Artie the cat went missing from the home of Theo-Will McKenna, 29, after the family moved from Blacon in Chester to Connah's Quay in Flintshire, Wales, in 2012, according to SWNS, the British news service.

Then just 17, McKenna, the cat's owner, spent six months looking for Artie whenever he could — yet eventually the family lost hope that their beloved cat would be found.

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But just three weeks ago, Artie the cat was discovered after spending four days in a garden close to where the family had lived in Connah's Quay.

"I hadn’t been able to take him with me when I moved out, and my [mom] moved to Connah’s Quay with him, my brother and our other pets," SWNS reported. "I was in college in the area, so I’d pop back to visit once a week or so."

"I went out to look for him. I walked around the entire area with a bag full of treats and I found nothing," said Theo-Will McKenna, pictured here with Artie the cat — who was missing for 12 years. (SWNS)

McKenna added that one day when he was home visiting, his mother reported the cat was missing.

"He hadn’t come back in a couple of days — and he’d never done that before. He used to come back every night."

Immediately, said McKenna, "I went out to look for him. I walked around the entire area with a bag full of treats and I found nothing."

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Fox News Digital reached out to McKenna for additional details and comment. 

"I’d kept an eye out for him every time I was in the area, and there had been no sign of him."

He also noted that about six months after the cat went missing, "I’d lost hope. I’d kept an eye out for him every time I was in the area, and there had been no sign of him."

At that point, "I reached the point where I thought that either, God forbid, something had happened to him, or someone else [had] taken him in."

Residents at the home where Artie was found took him to the vet — who found a microchip registered to Theo-Will McKenna's mother, with a contact number for North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR). (SWNS)

Residents at the home where Artie was found took him to the vet — who found a microchip registered to Theo-Will McKenna's mother, with a contact number for North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR).

NCAR picked up Artie and shared messaging on Facebook to try to find the pet's owners — and a friend apparently recognized Artie and sent the post to McKenna.

"It took me a second to recognize him, because he looked so bedraggled and skinny."

McKenna said the North Clwyd Animal Rescue reported that "he showed up in someone’s garden nearby where my [mom] had lived in Connah’s Quay. He showed up in their garden and just stayed there for four days. He didn’t leave at all, just stayed there."

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Once the veterinarian's office scanned the cat's microchip, it saw that "the chip was still registered" to McKenna's mom at the family's old Blaken address.

And "when they found out that my [mom] didn’t live there anymore, they reached out to NCAR and they reclaimed him from the vet," said McKenna.

"I thought there was no way it could be him. It had been 12 years — he went missing when I was 17. I thought no cat could survive 12 years on the street." (SWNS)

The cat then had some medical work done — "removed some teeth, treated his hyperthyroidism and took out some precancerous lumps in his ears," he said.

"They got him stable and then posted on their Facebook page, explaining that he’d been found… My friend saw it and sent me the post — it took me a second to recognize him, because he looked so bedraggled and skinny."

"He’s purring up a storm every time I go near him."

He added, "It didn’t feel real. I thought there was no way it could be him. It had been 12 years — he went missing when I was 17. I thought no cat could survive 12 years on the street."

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Once McKenna picked up Artie, he took him home to his current apartment — where the cat is now getting used to living with McKenna's other cat, SWNS reported.

Added McKenna, "We’re still in the trial period, but he’s been completely fine. He’s purring up a storm every time I go near him… My other cat has been a little bit wary, but we’ve been doing introductory methods and getting her used to his smell. It’s a slow process, but I’m absolutely determined that he’s staying with me."

"I think people must have been looking after him over the years — whether that’s been putting food out, or people taking him in, because I don’t think he would have made it 12 years without community kindness." (SWNS)

He also noted, "I think people must have been looking after him over the years — whether that’s been putting food out, or people taking him in, because I don’t think he would have made it 12 years without community kindness."

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The cat is now 16 years old — and will apparently require ongoing medical care, with his medicine costing £50, or about $64 U.S., per month, said SWNS.

McKenna has started a fundraiser online to help with the cat's medical expenses.

"I want him to be able to spend his twilight years somewhere that he’s loved — which will be here," he said.

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Maureen Mackey is managing editor of lifestyle for Fox News Digital.