Norfolk family reunited with missing cat after 13 years

A cat that went missing 13 years ago has been found and reunited with her owner.

Gemma Barbieri from Thetford, Norfolk, said she was "stunned" when she received a call saying 14-year-old Rose had been found.

The pet was an eighth birthday present for Ms Barbieri's daughter Alicia but went missing in 2008.

She was reported as a stray in the King's Lynn area this year and taken in by a cat charity.

Mr Barbieri said she "couldn't believe it" when Cats Protection's Downham Market Adoption Centre rang.

"I just blurted out 'have you found Rose?'," she said.

"They said a black cat brought in as a stray had been scanned and the microchip showed that she was missing.

"It was Rose. I was so stunned, I was shaking."

Ms Barbieri said Rose had gone missing a few months after her brother Tyler was hit by a car and died in June 2008.

Both cats had been adopted as kittens the year previously.

Ms Barbieri said the family, who used to live in King's Lynn, had put up posters and knocked on doors when Rose went missing, and registered her on the microchip database in the hope she would be found eventually.

Rose, named after Billie Piper's character in Doctor Who, was taken in by Cats Protection this year but her whereabouts for the last 13 years is not known.

Ms Barbieri said the black cat was a healthy weight and in good condition, and settled "almost immediately" when she brought her home.

"It was amazing, within an hour she'd eaten, used the litter tray, explored the whole house and was laying purring on her back while I stroked her belly," she said.

Rose has also been reunited by a video call with Alicia, now 21 and studying at university.

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