Cat Missing for 12 Years Finally Comes Home

Alfie the cat gets to spend the last of his nine lives at home.

The ginger-colored feline went missing 12 years ago from his British home in Jersey. Owner Shelley Brockbank said he had a penchant for wandering and hitching car rides.

She was floored to see his image on an animal shelter's website, with a listing saying he was a stray. So she went to see him, and sure enough, it was Alfie.

There was "no doubt" it was him, though he had "aged quite a lot," she said, according to the BBC.

The shelter staff told her Alfie probably had several homes during his time away, she said.

"When we got him home, he came out of his box and was immediately rubbing up against my leg, trying to get in my lap," she said.

The cat often went on "adventures," Brockbank said, and was fond of jumping into the cars of strangers. That may have been how he disappeared in 2009, she said.

She now hopes for a "cozy retirement" with the 16-year Alfie, she said.

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