Woman gobsmacked as missing cat returns home after epic 300-mile journey from Scotland to Coventry

An adorable named Beans, who went missing from his home last month has left his owners gobsmacked after he disappeared at the end of October after going out for his usual wander and turned up over 300 miles away.

Beans, who is ginger and white, lives in Cumbernauld, with his owners, Cara, 40, and Colin McBurnie, 51. For weeks Cara and Colin desperately searched for him but he was nowhere to be found.

However, weeks later, they received a surprising call from Cats Protection informing them that thanks to his microchip, Beans had been located in .

READ MORE:

Ms McBurnie said: "Beans loves to be outside and in gardens. He went out as normal because he likes to go for a wander but always comes home for some food, usually after a few hours.

"We searched and searched, looking everywhere. I’ve been out every day looking but thought something must have happened to him. I didn’t really expect to see him again but joined lots of local lost and found pages, then further afield in . I didn’t think to look in England, I didn’t imagine he could have gone that far."

Beans had embarked on an adventure far beyond what his owner could have imagined, somehow ending up in the West Midlands. There, he was spotted by Kelly Ryan, who said: "I have an outdoor cat box with some straw in it and started noticing a cat hanging round.

"I didn’t feed him straight away as I thought he was probably owned, then one night saw him sleeping in the cat box and he was still there the next day, then the one after that.

"I just gave him a few biscuits to start with but heard he was going to visit other neighbours too and it felt like he was around too much and that something wasn’t quite right," said Ms Ryan. After posting about the cat on Facebook, she was contacted by Cats Protection who sent someone out to scan Beans.

"I was so relieved when he had a chip and a loving family who had registered him as missing," she added. Wendy Harris at Cats Protection Coventry called Ms McBurnie with the good news and the next day, November 12, Beans’ owners completed a 600-mile round trip to collect him.

"I couldn’t believe it when Wendy told me, I was shocked out of (my) mind that he was still alive, and how he travelled over 300 miles," said Ms McBurnie. "When we got him back, we let him out in the car for a cuddle then put him back in his carrier for the long journey.

She added: "We were all exhausted and he slept in the bed all night by my husband. Even my other cat, Missy, was happy to see him, they usually keep a bit of a distance but had a nice moment and a sniff together. I’m so glad we had him microchipped and updated his record. There’s no way he’d have come back to us otherwise."

It is not known how Beans managed to travel such a distance. Madison Rogers, from Cats Protection, hailed the success of microchipping after a lost cat named Beans was returned to his family within a day. She said: "It’s a real testament to the power of the microchip that Beans could be reunited with his owners just 24 hours after being scanned."

She added, "Without a chip it’s unlikely Beans would ever have found his way back to the family who love him so much."

For advice on stray cats, visit .