A cat who was missing for five months has been reunited with its doting owner using FaceTime.

Cathy Lilley of Chingford had lost all hope of ever seeing her companion Jasper, 17, again before receiving a video call out of the blue from a vet.

The moggy who suffers from hyperthyroidism, a common disorder in older cats, went missing at the end of March shortly after Mrs Lilley moved into her new home.

“We put posters up to try and find him and I even spoke to the council to check if the refuse collectors had seen him,” remembers Mrs Lilley.

“However, as the weeks went by we had started to give up hope as Jasper is old and suffers with thyroid problems.”

But while the desperate owner scoured her neighbourhood, little did she know that her feline friend has been handed into The Scratching Post by a woman who found him wandering the streets over the summer.

Volunteer at the Enfield-based cat rescue charity, Sue Gawne, recognised Jasper as belonging to one of her clients who had previously used her holiday

feeding service, Katz at Home.

Ms Gawne whisked the animal to Forest Veterinary Centre in Waltham Road, Woodford Green for a check-up and her hunch was confirmed.

After a quick search of their records, staff confirmed that Mrs Lilley was a client of the practice who had reported a cat missing earlier in the year.

Vets took to FaceTime to conduct a video call with an excited Mrs Lilley, who was holidaying in the Mediterranean at the time.

“We have owned Jasper since he was a kitten so to have the FaceTime call from the practice while in Cyprus really made the holiday,” said Mrs Lilley.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for helping to get Jasper home and I am happy to say he is back to his old self.”

Jenny Peacock, deputy head nurse at Forest Veterinary Centre, is urging owners to microchip their pets to improve the chances of a reunion if they go missing.

It has been a legal requirement to microchip dogs since 2016 and there are now calls for cats’ microchipping to be compulsory too.

Because Jasper was not microchipped it delayed the time it took to identify him and get him home.

Ms Peacock said: “Jasper suffers from hyperthyroidism and our surgery has a special referral unit to treat this illness, so we are familiar with both him and his owner Mrs Lilley.

“It was fortunate that Jasper was found and taken to us, so we could get him home. However, if he had been microchipped this process would have been even quicker.

“Cats and dogs are often prone to wandering, particularly if they have been recently moved to a new home so by microchipping your pet this provides peace of mind that they can be returned quickly when found.”

Jasper has since been microchipped along with Mrs Lilley’s other two cats Simba and Bert.