A family is fighting to get its beloved cat back.

Bear, a grey and white cat went missing last October in Connah’s Quay, leaving Victoria Warrington and her daughter Jessica devastated.

It was reported to the North Clywd Animal Rescue (NCAR) service that Bear was missing, with the pair saying they were told they would be notified if she was handed in.

But after receiving no updates, Victoria and Jessica began to lose all hope.

They believed they would never see her again, with their constant searching for nine months proving unsuccessful.

But Bear was handed in to NCAR on Sunday, June 11.

Yet because she was not microchipped, NCAR was unable to validate the owners of Bear and she was then put up for adoption.

Bear – now known as Misty – was rehomed with a new family several weeks after being handed in.

Victoria was made aware Bear had been found and rehomed when a friend sent a picture of a cat to, her questioning if it was Bear. To Victoria’s surprise, it was.

She claims an image stating Bear had been found wasn’t posted on NCAR’s website, believing it was only posted when she was reserved, four days before her rehoming.

She said: “I believe they (NCAR) should have tried to reach the real owners rather than putting her up for adoption straight away.

“We gave a full description
of our cat for the lost system and surely they should check the system when cats are handed in.

“They claimed they can’t go that far back in the system.

“Well then, what is the point of it?

“If they had put her on the website to state she was found then we could have had her back home.

“We have Bear’s full family – her brothers and son. This is where she belongs.

“I think they are a great charity but I think they could have done more, we are just devastated.”

Victoria added: “She was part of the family, it is lovely to know she is safe but sad to know she is not in the home she belongs to.”

Jessica was taking Bear to get microchipped at Grange Vets, in Connah’s Quay when the cat carrier’s door snapped open and Bear jumped and ran across the road.

As Jessica was accompanied by her daughter she ran inside the vets to ask for help. But by the time they went after Bear she was nowhere to be seen.

Nicki Owen, spokesman at NCAR, said: “As the cat was not microchipped we could not find any details of the owners to contact them.

“We do feel sorry for the family as this is a tricky situation.

“It had been a long time since they had lost their cat and with more than 900 cats being handed in every year it’s really hard for us to keep track of them especially if they are not microchipped it’s a problem.

“It is so important to microchip pets because when a animal has been adopted we can not take it back.

“My advice to all pet owners is to microchip your pets because only then your ownership is valid. If the pet is microchipped we can get it back to you straight away.”