A CAT that went missing from home for the best part of two years has been reunited with his delighted owners.

Austin, a black-and-white moggy, disappeared on July 2003, just a month after Bob and Linda Horne moved to Lydes Road, Barnards Green. They had previously lived in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.

But last week, Austin was whisked back to the comfort of home, thanks to the miracle of microchip technology.

"We think he was scared by some fireworks," said Mr Horne. "We put notices up on lamp-posts around the area, but we didn't hear anything."

The Hones - who have three other cats - reconciled themselves to their loss and assumed Austin was gone from their lives forever.

Until, that is, Mr Horne had a call last week from the Avenue Veterinary Centre.

"They had a black-and-white cat brought in to them and they ran the microchip reader over him . . . and it was Austin."

He had been brought in by an Orchard Road resident who had been feeding him for the past couple of months.

"Other than that, we don't know where he's been. We wondered at first whether he'd tried trekking back to Stonehouse. You hear stories about cats going back to their old homes."

But Austin seems quite happy to be back home. "He lost a bit of weight while he was gone, but otherwise he's fine and seems pleased to be back."

Louise Copeland, nurse at the Avenue Veterinary Centre, said: "We were only able to find out who owned the cat because of the chip. All responsible pet owners should consider getting their pets implanted."