An animal welfare centre in Kensal Green has captured the moment an owner was reunited with their cat after he was missing for eight months.

Pepsi was found by a member of the public, living as a stray outside a school in Harlesden.

After being brought in to The Mayhew Animal Home, the vet team gave the two-year-old a health check, which found him to be in a good condition.

Pepsi was wearing a collar, and after scanning the black cat, welfare officers discovered he had a microchip registered to a family.

Davinia hadn't seen Pepsi since October 2016

"I honestly thought I’d never see him again"

Pepsi’s owner, Davinia, had been searching for her pet for eight months, and she was over the moon to hear the news.

"I honestly thought I’d never see him again and didn’t think it was real because it had been so long since we last saw him," she said.

"I had last seen Pepsi back in October 2016 when I went on holiday.

"I left him with a friend to take care of him when I was away, and unfortunately he must have got out and become lost.

"I desperately tried to find Pepsi again, and rang up every rescue to see if he had been found and notified the microchipping company that he was missing, but sadly had no luck."

Cat Welfare Coordinator at The Mayhew, Georgina Disney, said: "We were over the moon to help reunite Davinia back with her beloved pet.

"We don’t know what happened to Pepsi during the eight months and can imagine he must have been so scared."

On his microchip, Pepsi was registered to a family

She explains microchipping is an extremely important factor when being able to reunite missing pets with their owners.

She said: "Pepsi’s story highlights how important it is to get your pet microchipped, as it means we can quickly reunite lost pets with their owners.

"Sadly we get hundreds of stray cats and dogs come in to us every year who haven’t been microchipped, and it’s heart-breaking to think that they could be someone’s missing pet."

Now reunited with his family, it appears Pepsi is being spoilt rotten, Davinia said: "My kids missed him so much and it’s great to be able to have him back.

"Since getting back home, Pepsi has settled in wonderfully, it is as though he didn't go missing at all.

"We’re all so pleased, including Pepsi. He is very content and is getting spoilt."

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