A Flintshire family had a purr-fect Christmas when their cat returned home after three months of being missing – in Telford.

Ellie and Farren Kordgharehchehlo were distraught when Pebbles, their seven-year-old tabby cat, did not come back after being let out for lunch time from the family’s new home in Penyffordd in September.

Mrs Kordgharehchehlo said: “The day she went missing was the day I got home from hospital with my second son. When we called her a few hours later, she didn’t come back.

“It was very unusual for her as we haven’t lived in Penyffordd for long, so she hasn’t been staying out for long either. We were getting worried, but she had stayed out at night before so we were just hoping she would come back in the morning.”

“We have had her since she was a kitten and she’s always been totally fine with my first son - so we don’t think it was because of the newborn baby.”

The couple, who are originally from Kent, said they were “incredibly stressed and upset” when she didn’t return days later. They pleaded with neighbours about Pebbles, but no one had seen her and stuck posters around the village.

She said: “We all kept walking around the village to look for her. It was so upsetting, especially when my little boy of two years old kept asking where she was and saying “Pebbles lost.”

Mrs Kordgharehchehlo said they were glad villagers helped them through the “horrible” ordeal, with many messaging daily with suspected sightings.

She said: “Whenever we got there and it wasn’t her, it was upsetting. Then we had message about someone finding a dead cat so my husband went out to look. It was another poor cat so he took it to the vets so it could be microchipped and the owners could be told.

“Farren was devastated and so worried about her being out in the snow and all the bad rain and wind we had before that.

“But the whole time she was away we never got the feeling that she was dead.”

A miracle then came to the family y a week before Christmas Day.

Mrs Kordgharehchehlo said: “We got a phone call from a vets in Telford saying that they had her. We literally couldn’t believe it. My husband made them double check all her features before we got our hopes up and went to collect her from Telford straight away.

“We have absolutely no idea how she got to there. She hated the car, so if she was trapped she would have definitely cried a lot and jumped about. It started raining when she was out the afternoon she went missing so she could have got in a van for shelter.

“Or maybe she was just walking back to Kent – we have no idea!”

Although being tired and slightly on the “thin” side, Pebbles sustained no injuries and is being spoiled at her new forever home.

The family are relieved they had Pebbles microchipped, as her female rescuer from Telford took her to a nearby vet who then contacted the family with the good news.

The Kordgharehchehlo’s are now urging people to take all measures to ensure their pets are tracked.

They said: “She was very oily and dirty, so think she’s been hiding under cars, and now she just needs sleep and food.

“We are so happy she is home for Christmas.”