Woman Returns From Hospital To Find Her Cat, Missing For Eight Years, Waiting Patiently On Doorstep

A woman recently discharged from hospital had the shock of her life to find her beloved cat, who had gone missing eight years ago, waiting patiently for her on the doorstep of her house.

After 44-year-old Karen Raymond was finally discharged from hospital after undergoing surgery on her knee, she breathed a sigh of relief and rushed home to watch a little bit of TV and enjoy a cup of something hot.

The very last thing Karen was expecting when she walked to her front door, was to find her old cat, Scruffy, sitting pretty on her doorstep and waiting as cool as a cucumber to be reunited with the woman he hadn’t seen in eight long years of wandering.

Although Scruffy’s adventures had left him ravaged and bedraggled, and although the hands of time had robbed his coat of its luster and his limbs of their agility, Scruffy’s eyes still sparkled with a familiar mischief.

Hoping, but not daring to really believe this stray cat could be her Scruffy finally returned to the roost, a thrilled Karen told the Mirror that all doubts about the cat’s identity were put aside when Scruffy let loose a familiar miaow she recognised from old.

“My cat went missing eight years ago, but he just turned up on my doorstep out of the blue when I had come back from hospital after a knee operation.

“I knew it was him as soon as he miaowed. My husband wasn’t too sure, but I knew straight away it was Scruffy. I was really pleased to see him. I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him as a kitten and he has always been my favourite cat. He was such a friendly, loving cat and he’s still got those characteristics now.”

As any cat knows, eight years of roaming and adventuring takes its toll, and Scruffy was no longer the youthful and fearless feline of yesteryear. On closer inspection, the cat’s coat was dreadfully matted, and he was painfully thin. As soon as she was able, Karen rushed Scruffy to the vet, and there her worst fears were confirmed. Scruffy is suffering from a mouth tumour and it looks likely that after finally being reunited following eight years apart, she’ll soon lose him again.

“He was very thin and his coat was very matted so we took him to the vets who said he might need to be put to sleep. I didn’t want to do it this week because he’s come home for a reason and I want to spend a bit of time with him.

“At the moment he has perked up and is eating and drinking and using the litter tray. He’s a lot livelier than he was when he first turned up three days ago. He is very friendly and very happy to be around people. It’s like he’s never been away. He won’t leave me alone and follows me everywhere.”

Karen now firmly believes that Scruffy returned home to die, and she wants to make his last days as comfortable and happy as possible.

“Where he has been is a mystery. It’s very weird that he’s just turned up after all these years. Usually cats go away to die, but I think Scruffy has come home to die.”