Missing cat Peanut found after 10 years in Norfolk

A cat which went missing 10 years ago has been found and will be reunited with its owner.

Peanut escaped a week after his owners moved to a new home in Watton, Norfolk, and despite being microchipped, the missing moggy could not be found.

His owners moved to Cambridgeshire and had given up hope of being reunited with their feline friend.

But last week they were contacted by a charity in Norfolk to say Peanut had been brought in to them.

"Delighted" owner Julie Terry plans to collect Peanut later this week.

The family had owned Peanut since 2006 when he was just a kitten.

They moved from Ely in Cambridgeshire to Norfolk in 2009, taking the cat with them.

"After a week Peanut broke out of his catflap and he disappeared - he was a happy cat, but he didn't like being shut in," Miss Terry said.

Despite extensive searches the cat was nowhere to be found. "We really loved him and missed him," said Miss Terry.

A year ago she and her daughter moved back to Cambridgeshire, leaving behind any remaining hope of finding Peanut.

"Last week I got a phone call from Cats Protection in Dereham (Norfolk) to say they'd found our cat Peanut," she said.

It transpired Peanut had been befriended by an elderly man who lived "just down the road" from the family's Watton home.

"They think Peanut had been living almost as a stray but the man would feed him," Miss Terry said.

"When he became too ill to do so, his daughter took the cat to the charity."

She will collect Peanut and bring him home on Friday.

"My daughter is so pleased and I'm delighted - we can't wait to see him," she added.