Cat returned to family three years after going missing

Ollie's owners began to lose hope they would ever find him after he disappeared from Aberdeenshire kennels in July 2013

Ollie the cat was reunited with his family thanks to his microchip (Adele Bailey)

A pet cat has been returned to its family after escaping from kennels three years ago.

Ollie disappeared from Aberdeenshire kennels in July 2013 while his owners, the Bailey family, were on holiday.

After months of searching, the family from Peterhead began to lose hope they would ever recover him.

Ollie was finally found in the village of St Fergus, only five miles from where he originally disappeared.

Owner, Adele Bailey, 37, told the BBC: "It is all a bit surreal - it's just unbelievable.

"We did posters and did searches for about a year. We were getting possible sightings.

"However I was starting to think on the dark side and that we had lost him."

The charity Cats Protection rescued Ollie and was able to reunite him with his family due to his microchip.

The coordinator of Cats Protection’s Fraserburgh Branch, Elizabeth Jones, said: “Our branch was thrilled when we discovered this was Ollie – we didn’t think he’d ever be found after being missing for so long.

"His owners were in tears when they picked him up as they’d given up hope too. We’ve had so many messages from the public via our social media saying what great news.

"Ollie’s story just goes to show how important it is to microchip your cat and to keep the records updated. Had the Baileys changed their mobile number it would have been much harder to reunite them with Ollie.”

Mrs Bailey added: "We got a call from the St Fergus area about a cat that was coming round.

"With the help of Cats Protection he was scanned and it was his chip. We jumped straight in the car. He was straight up on my knee purring.

"He's come back fatter - he's not gone without a feed. I cannot believe how well he is looking. And he's back playing with his favourite catnip mouse toy."

According to research by Cats Protection, less than a third of pet cats are microchipped with one in four cats having no identification at all.

The charity's chief veterinary officer, Beth Skillings said: "Microchipping is a simple and cheap procedure which gives cats the chance to be safely and quickly returned to their owner.

"Collars can cause serious injury and can come off and get lost, whereas microchips are quickly and permanently inserted under the skin."

As of April 6, all British dogs must now be microchipped or their owners face fines.

Many pet charities including Cats Protection and the RSPCA are currently campaigning for the same rules to be applied to cats.