Cat reunited with her owners after she was missing for nine years

Loua and her partner found the cat, named Tilly, outside their home (Image: Manchester Evening News)A cat named Tilly was returned back to her owners after she was found – miles away from the Greater Manchester area where she went missing nine years ago. The feline was spotted by a couple outside of their house in Stretford, a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and was nearly hit as they parked their car. Loua Tirmidh and her partner saved the kitty, which they thought was a stray, on Sunday afternoon.The poor animal was smelly and in a poor condition.Loua told Manchester Evening News: “My partner was parking the car, and at first we thought we’d hit the cat, so we got out to make sure she was okay.”We didn’t hit her, she was just sat there, so we got out the car and tried to coax her inside because it was raining and bless her, she was a bit smelly and a bit worse for wear.”READ MORE: Ukrainians befuddled as Russian soldiers steal raccoon from zoo The cat was found in Stretford, a market town in Trafford (stock photo) (Image: Getty)The couple called the RSPCA, and then dropped the cat off at an emergency vet to look after her.Loua said: “So we left here there and just thought, oh well, if she isn’t anyone’s cat then she’ll get adopted and live the rest of her life in a nice home.But the next morning, Loua’s partner received an unexpected phone call from the vet. It was to inform her that Tilly the cat was chipped and her owners were located in Oldham, 11 miles away from where she was found. DON’T MISS: Mysterious white blob washed up on Cornish beach eludes identificationHikers urged not to lick psychedelic toadsRussian soldiers eating zoo animals to survive warzone Tilly, the cat, was a bit smelly when she was found (stock photo) (Image: Getty)The pair were shocked to find out that Tilly had gone missing nine years ago.Loua said: “The vet called us up and said, remember that cat you brought in yesterday? She’s been missing for nine years! We just thought, oh my god, that’s crazy.”Tilly has since been reunited with her family, which Loua said was “fantastic”.She said: “It was such a nice way to end the day. It’s a nice happy story, I thought people might benefit from knowing that this happened!”