'Don't give up hope' - family's joy as cat returns home after nearly two years

Maddy, a six-year-old Russian Blue, went missing from her home in Chedgrave, in February 2019.

The heartbroken family searched tirelessly in the fields around their home and put up posts on social media but to no avail.

Then on Tuesday, December 15, the family heard scratching on the door, only to find Maddy wonder in again as if nothing happened.

Maddy's owner Sharon Drake remembers the day she went missing. She said: "We were devastated as a family. We were all just so shocked, my youngest Tegan just couldn't stop crying.

"When Maddy went missing we posted all over social media just to see if anyone in the village had seen her but we never found her.

"Even this year during the lockdown we were searching in the fields around us to try and find her."

After a few months, Mrs Drake and her family began to fear the worst for Maddy.

She said: "We just assumed that Maddy had been killed in the end.

"She had wondered off before but never for that long so we lost all hope."

Mrs Drake described the elation once Maddy finally returned home.

She said: "It was just a normal Tuesday evening. We were all sat down just watching telly when we all suddenly heard this scratching at the door.

"At first I thought it was our other cat so my hubby Kevin got up to answer the door.

"Maddy was just sat there and wondered in.

"We were all screaming and sobbing. Tegan couldn't stop crying and my son Finlay was just shocked.

"But she came right in as if nothing happened and started licking all our noses."

Mrs Drake doesn't know how far Maddy went but believes she was being fed and potentially kept while away.

She said: "She was taken into the vets and is completely healthy other than having worms so someone may have been feeding her or kept her.

"Who knows how far she ventured away from Chedgrave as they say cats can travel for miles.

"I say to other pet owners don't give up hope as they could just walk through the door like Maddy did."