Runaway cat reunited with Rachel after 14 years

A trip to the vet's has revealed that the mysterious tabby, who has become a beloved companion of the maintenance team at the museum, is the missing pet of veterinary nurse Rachel Wells.

Tiger, previously known as Snitch, seems to have decided 14 years ago to set up home in the spacious grounds of the open air attraction.

Roger Colbourne, who has been working at the museum for 27 years, quickly took a shine to their new resident and the pair became inseparable.

For years Roger has fed and cared for Tiger, as he is now known.

However the feline's cover was blown when a microchip scan revealed his former owner was Rachel who had never given up hope of finding her much-loved pet.

Roger, 70, said: "I have grown extremely close to him over the years and can't imagine life without his companionship.

"I see him almost every day and the maintenance team all have a special bond with him – someone's always fussing him.

"I lost my dog Rose over Christmas but seeing Tiger every day really helped me through that – he's such an affectionate cat.

"Still, we can't help but feel duped – I thought someone had abandoned him when the truth was he had run away from a perfectly good home and loving owner."

Rachel Wells, 34, who now lives near to the museum and works at White Cross Vets in Wolverhampton, added: "Tiger was 18 months old when he went to play out 14 years ago but he never returned.

"I spent months putting up posters and trying to find him but it proved fruitless.

"However working as a veterinary nurse means I've seen a number of pets reunited with their owners after long periods of time so I never gave up hope and each time I moved house I always updated my contact details on his microchip.

"When he finally reappeared after all these years I couldn't believe it and especially because he's now living so close to me."

On seeing the bond between Tiger and museum staff, Rachel has now decided to register the cat's chip with Roger so he can remain there.