Sheffield cat living in wheelie bin reunited with owner - after 11 years

Owner Terrie Mitchell was reunited with her long-lost cat, Chloe after she was discovered living in an overturned wheelie bin by a postwoman just a couple of streets away from where she went missing in Beighton.

Mrs Mitchell believed she would never see her pet again until she spotted her on Facebook.

She had got Chloe when she was 21 and living at home with her mother, Jean.

When she moved out, she let the black, long-haired cat stay in the house she was used to.

But when her mother died unexpectedly at the age of 60, Chloe disappeared and couldn’t be found anywhere.

Mrs Mitchell believed she would never see her pet again until a postwoman who had found the cat living in an overturned wheelie bin posted a picture on Facebook.

The pair were reunited on November 5 this year, two weeks before the anniversary of the death of Mrs Mitchell’s mother.

Mrs Mitchell, a dental nurse, said: “When I saw the picture, I thought ‘Wow, that looks like my Chloe’. I was shaking and panicking.

“I was asked for proof so I ran upstairs to the attic to grab the photos I still had of her as a kitten.

“I assumed she had been run over because I had another cat a few years before who had gotten run over on that road.”

Andrea Hurst, a postwoman, had been delivering a parcel to an elderly lady, who asked her to bring it to the back door.

She spotted the fluffy cat living in the wheelie bin and couldn’t stop thinking about her.

On her next round, she asked about the cat and was told it had been staying there for over six years as the woman had been feeding it but didn’t want a house cat.

Andrea asked a local cat shelter to collect her before posting on a lost and found Facebook page trying to find the original owners.

Mrs Mitchell spotted the post by chance on Facebook.

Her sister, Keeley Haynes, commented on the post, saying: "Mum must have been looking after her from heaven."

After being treated for fleas and having knots cut out of her fur, Chloe had to have more than £200 of treatment at the vet.

The vet, who confirmed Chloe was over 10 years old, told Mrs Mitchell it was a miracle.

Chloe is now settling in well at her new home and even responds to her original name.

Mrs Mitchell said: “Now I feel guilty that I didn’t search for her better because she was obviously around, the poor little lady.

“It could give hope to people who haven’t seen their pets in years.”

“She loved my mum.”