An incredible story of survival has emerged in County Down. A family in Bangor's cat went missing in 2019 and turned up last week 150 miles away in County Galway! 

The Smyth family from Bangor, County Down, had lost all hope of finding their pet cat, Blueberry who went missing in 2019. Then in February, they received a call from Galway saying “We have your Blueberry” reported The Guardian.

One hundred and fifty miles away and four years later, Blueberry was spotted in the village of Moycullen. He was a stray and roaming outside SuperValue, a supermarket. He was taken to a vet on Feb 6.

Rachael Russell, a veterinary nurse at the clinic told the Guardian “He had cat flu. He was very docile but very friendly. He was in a bit of pain, and tense, but still wanted human attention.”

Thankfully, Blueberry was microchipped in the United Kingdom and a match popped up in County Down. The vets then discovered that this stray was a family cat from Bangor.

Hannah Smyth, the cat's owner, told the Belfast Telegraph, they never expected to receive the call. 

“We had just accepted that was it and he was gone, but then my mum received a call from someone down south,” Hannah Smyth told the Belfast Telegraph.

“They said: ‘We have your Blueberry.’ She couldn’t believe it. We all thought there was no way it was possible.”

Cat lost for four years turns up over 150 miles from Northern Ireland home https://t.co/mO2Am9RXe4

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) February 15, 2024

A week later, Blueberry was back with his family. 

“We are still in shock. It’s just brilliant,” said Smyth. “He knew it was us; as soon as the girls brought him out he started with the head-butts,” she said.

“He was a bit out of it when we first saw him, but he seems to be back to himself now.”

This tale surely highlights the importance of getting your pets microchipped.