Mystery of lost 'Spanish' cat solved

1 February 2014 Last updated at 17:44

'Spanish' cat found in Scottish garage reunited with her owner

The shorthaired tabby was named 'Juanita' after she was found to have been microchipped on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura

A cat microchipped in Spain which was found in a garage in Aberdeenshire has been reunited with her owner.

Shorthaired tabby Tina, found in Muchalls on Thursday, was registered in Las Palmas in Fuerteventura.

The phone number on record was disconnected and it was suspected the owner may have emigrated to the UK and not updated the address details.

A ring-round of vets by Cats Protection led to one recognising the owner and the pair were reunited.

The owner, Fiona Prati, used to live in Fuerteventura and now stays in Bridge of Don.

Tina went missing from her home last week and it is thought that she hopped a ride on a vehicle and travelled 30 miles to Muchalls.

The tabby has been looked after at Kirkton Vets since being found in a family's garage and was reunited with her owner by vet Fiona MacPherson on Saturday.

Ms MacPherson said: "We were delighted when Fiona came to collect her and we're so pleased that we were able to help reunite them.

"Fiona even heard the story on the radio as she was driving to collect Tina. She told us how pleased she was that Tina was ok as she had feared the worst."

'Unusual case'

Zahir White, from Cats Protection, said: "It is great news that Tina's owner has been found and we're happy we were able to play a part in reuniting them.

"Every week we help to reunite 50 lost cats with their owners across the UK and this is one of the most unusual cases we have come across.

"It is always heart-breaking when a much-loved cat goes missing and the owner never knows what became of them. Cases like this show how important it is to get cats microchipped and keep the microchip details up-to-date."

After seeing the story on the BBC, a Fuerteventura-based cat charity contacted Cats Protection offering to check the animal's registration details against its own records.

Twinkle Trust, which organises the sterilisation of stray cats by volunteer vets from the UK and Fuerteventura, has rehomed more than 100 in the UK since 1995.