A Scottish family were left stunned after their missing pet cat turned up more than 300 miles away in the West Midlands. Pictured: Beans the cat reunited with his family (Image: Cats Protection/PA Wire)

Scottish family's missing cat found in West Midlands after solo 300-mile trek

by · Birmingham Live

A Scottish family were left stunned after their missing pet cat turned up more than 300 miles away in the West Midlands. Beans, a ginger and white cat from North Lanarkshire, went missing from his home towards the end of October after going out “as normal”.

Owners Cara, 40, and Colin McBurnie, 51, searched the area to no luck, but weeks later received a call from Cats Protection saying thanks to his microchip, Beans had been found in Coventry. Beans' family were floored at his solo 300 mile excursion across the border, saying they "didn't think to search in England".

Cara said: “Beans loves to be outside and in gardens. He went out as normal because he likes to go for a wander but always comes home for some food, usually after a few hours.

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“We searched and searched, looking everywhere. I was out every day looking but thought something must have happened to him. I didn’t really expect to see him again but joined lots of local lost and found Facebook pages, then further afield in Scotland.

“I didn’t think to look in England, I didn’t imagine he could have gone that far.” Somehow, Beans made it to the West Midlands, where he was spotted by Kelly Ryan, who said: “I have an outdoor cat box with some straw in it and started noticing a cat hanging round.

“I didn’t feed him straight away as I thought he was probably owned, then one night saw him sleeping in the cat box and he was still there the next day, then the one after that. I gave him a few biscuits to start with but heard he was going to visit other neighbours too and it felt like he was around too much and that something wasn’t quite right.”

Kelly posted on Facebook about her new visitor and was contacted by Cats Protection, who sent someone to scan Beans. Wendy Harris at Cats Protection Coventry called Beans' family with the good news and the next day, November 12, they were reunited following a 600-mile round trip to collect him.

A Scottish family were left stunned after their missing pet cat turned up more than 300 miles away in the West Midlands. Pictured: Beans with owner Cara McBurnie (Image: Cats Protection/PA Wire)

“I couldn’t believe it when Wendy told me, I was shocked out of (my) mind he was still alive, and how he travelled over 300 miles,” said Cara. “When we got him back, we let him out in the car for a cuddle then put him back in his carrier for the long journey."

It was not known how Beans made it so far down south, but his family are cherishing every moment: “We were all exhausted and he slept in the bed all night by my husband. Even my other cat, Missy, was happy to see him, they usually keep a bit of a distance but had a nice moment and a sniff together.

“I’m so glad we had him microchipped and updated his record. There’s no way he’d have come back to us otherwise.” Madison Rogers, Cats Protection associate director of advocacy, campaigns and external affairs, said: “It’s a real testament to the power of the microchip that Beans could be reunited with his owners just 24 hours after being scanned.

“Without a chip it’s unlikely Beans would ever have found his way back to the family who love him so much.”