Joy for Peterborough cat owner after seven month search as beloved pet is discovered - in Warmington!

So there was no hiding Julie Howell’s delight when she received a phone call from a couple informing her that her ginger, short haired tabby cat Larry Grayson had been found - in Warmington.

Larry Grayson went missing from Julie’s home in Orton Northgate seven months ago on October 3. On that day, the Green Party councillor had planned to feed him at 6pm but he did not show up, and she “knew he was gone when he didn’t re-appear”.

In the months to come Julie went to numerous potential sightings which was “stressful” when it turned out not to be Larry Grayson.

But never giving up hope, Julie launched an appeal over social media to drum up the chances of finding him. And astonishingly, Larry Grayson had started visiting a garden in Warmington, a full six miles away via the A1 and A605, for a month.

The garden is owned by Caz and Dave, and Julie said: “We didn’t want to get our hopes up. We matched profiles on a missing pet website which I submitted when he first went missing. The profile had had no hits until now.”

Joining Peterborough Cat Rescue, Julie left her house for the first time in eight weeks to check his microchip. When Julie arrived at Caz and Dave’s house Larry Grayson recognised her immediately and gave her an affectionate headbutt.

Julie found the whole experience unbelievable. She said: “When we scanned him, we read out the long-digit number. When we got to the last four numbers I shouted ‘it’s him’ and I nearly collapsed into tears.

“It was mixed emotions as Caz had started to bond with him. Though funnily enough, when Caz and Dave asked where we lived, Dave had actually fitted the roof on our house 15 years ago. So it’s as if Larry Grayson knew to go to kind-hearted people and asked them to call his parents!”

Acting like he’d never been away, Larry Grayson is behaving “completely normal with the same cat mannerisms” and lapping all the fuss from doting owner Julie. Though he won’t be going outside soon, Julie hopes in time he will re-adjust and then she might invest in a collar camera to check up on his whereabouts.

Larry Grayson was originally supposed to be called Jim Bowen but as Jim was unwell at the time Julie didn’t think the name was right. Instead she opted for Larry Grayson after the well-known entertainer from the late 70s.

Julie explained: “He had a lot of catchphrases, and I’ve had a lot of laughs at vet appointments when they call out his name. Some people even call out the catchphrases like ‘shut that door’.”