‘Christmas miracle’ as Haddenham cat comes home after five years

A family said a “Christmas miracle” took place after their cat, who had been missing for five years, turned up.

Jilly Fretwell, of Somersham, Cambridgeshire, had been “devastated” in 2020 when their beloved five-year-old black cat Bindi ran off.

However, earlier this month, they received a call from the vets after a woman in Haddenham handed her in, and her microchip was scanned.

Despite a couple of scratches, Bindi was in good health and had been “well looked after” and “instantly” recognised her family.

Jilly, 29, said: “She’s been missing for five years and we got a call on Thursday from the lovely vets in Witchford to say they had scanned her microchip and she was coming back home to us.

“She had a couple of little scratches on her that the vet wanted to see to, but other than that, she looks great. She’s lovely and glossy, well-fed and has been looked after somewhere. But we have absolutely no idea where she has been the last five years.”

Bindi had vanished during the Covid pandemic, and Jilly spent her daily walks looking for her, posting appeals on social media and asking people in Haddenham to keep watch for her.

Jilly admits that by 2021, she had “given up hope” of ever getting Bindi back.

“We were devastated, as they’re part of your family,” she said.

“They’re part of your routine, you wake up, you feed them, give them attention, wait for them to come home to give them their dinner. It was a complete change of routine.”

Despite now being ten years old and away from her family for so long, Bindi is still keen for attention, cuddling up to Jilly and resting on her lap.

Describing the moment the vets called, Jilly said: “We were just in disbelief, and then you just get this little ball of light in your chest, we were so excited to see her.

“We picked her up from the vets, and it’s like she recognised us. She was instantly on our lap, giving us snuggles, and it was the best feeling. A real Christmas miracle.”

While Bindi’s family will never know what happened to her since 2020, they believe someone may have taken her in.

Jilly added: “She’s never been much of a hunter. I think someone has potentially taken her in, and they think they’re doing a kind thing, and she’s been living with them the last few years.

“She’s in really good shape; someone has cared for her.”