Edinburgh woman overjoyed as cat Scotty returns home 9 months after going missing from Leith flat

Scotty, a grey and white cat, went missing in August last year, just days after he made the journey from France to be with his owner Sarah Verclytte, who had moved to Edinburgh to study a Masters at Heriot Watt.

Sarah, whose family live in the French Alps, said she and her boyfriend Lewis were terrified when they realised their two-year-old pet had vanished – as he had never been to the city before and wouldn’t know where to go.

"He wasn’t used to the neighbourhood at all so we were very scared. We just really didn’t know what he would be able to do or what he’d be able to find,” said the 23-year-old, who works as a translator and interpreter in the Capital.

"It’s a city and he wasn’t used to that at all. That was really quite scary for us and for a while we just didn’t get any news whatsoever.”

The couple, who live in Leith, shared Scotty’s pictures and details on social media in the hope that someone would have seen him and even printed and put up posters around the city. But it was to no avail.

"No one contacted us to say they’d seen him although we were so thankful for everyone who shared our posts and helped to look for him,” said Sarah.

"At first I was a little bit hopeful but as time passed, I knew anything could have happened and anyone could have seen him and taken him.

"After about five or six months I think it started to die out a little bit. I stopped posting on Facebook and I even took down a lot of the posters. I’d started to lose hope and it started to look like he was never going to come back.”

But on Tuesday, Sarah awoke to countless notifications on her phone, telling her that someone had posted a picture of a grey and white cat which had been found at Edinburgh Caravan and Motorhome Club in Marine Drive.

"I looked at the post and I recognised that it was Scotty instantly. I knew it was him, I was 100 per cent sure,” she said. “I contacted the woman who had posted and Lewis and I went straight there. We were there within an hour.

"I saw him at reception just sleeping and I got closer and let him smell my hands and things and he recognised me too.”

After the emotional reunion, Sarah, Scotty and Lewis are now back in their flat – with the windows closed – and can’t believe their luck.

"It really is a miracle, I still can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s really thanks to all the people in Edinburgh that we have him back.

"I was really surprised to see how many people reached out. It was really amazing and this wouldn’t have happened without them. We’re just so thankful.”

The only thing on Sarah's mind now is not knowing what Scotty has been doing for the past nine months.

"I wish I had a tracker so I could see what he’s been doing,” said Sarah. “He’s definitely been on some adventure.”