A MAN from Andreas is trying to piece together the story of how his cat - which required daily medication for a serious heart disease - managed to survive after disappearing for more than six weeks.

Bill Dale, a reporter and photographer for isleofman.com, said he was "absolutely amazed" to see his three year old cat Ziggy walk into the kitchen on Monday night.

He said: "I honestly thought he must have died. In fact, it was only on Monday afternoon a few hours before he came back that I again walked around the local fields in the honest belief that I was going to find his body in a hedge.

"When he came in through the kitchen door it was absolutely amazing - I still can't quite believe it.

"When he had been missing for a week we just presumed that his heart disease had finally caught up with him and he had died, hopefully peacefully, in a hedge somewhere."

Ziggy was diagnosed with a serious heart disease 18 months ago and requires daily medication. As the disease is very rare in young cats Bill was told that Ziggy was unlikely to reach four years old. 

But when Ziggy returned this week he appeared to be in good health and did not show any signs of malnutrition or the tell-tale sign of fleas around the ears which would indicate he had survived by killing rabbits for the six weeks.

Bill continued: "My theory is that Ziggy must have climbed into the back of someone's car or van through an open window and he was then driven off and jumped out when it stopped.

"In the past he has often climbed into the back of my 4x4 to relax and it seems to be the only possible answer. I can only think he must have climbed into someone else's car or van and they drove off without knowing Ziggy was in the back.

"I once drove off down the road and saw Ziggy in the rear view mirror in the back seat of my car. When I got back to the house and opened the door he shot off like a rocket, so I'm presuming he will have done the same this time.

"Goodness knows where he ended up. And I suppose I'll never know how he got back home again six weeks later. He has disappeared previously for maybe a day or so, probably chasing rabbits in the nearby fields, but he had never gone missing for more than 48 hours. Otherwise I would have reckoned that maybe, like I've heard with other cats, he found a friendly home nearby.

"But if that was the case I'm sure he would have ventured home once in a while even if he had chosen somewhere else to live. And the fact that he's stayed in my house pretty much 24-7 and kept close to me for the days since his return leads me to believe that he's been through something of a traumatic experience and must have probably climbed into someone’s vehicle."

Bill described the six weeks that Ziggy was missing as a "roller coaster of emotions".

He continued: "After being missing for six weeks you think you're cat has got to be dead - and the next moment he walks in through the cat-flap as if nothing has happened.

"My heart goes out to the many pet owners who post messages daily about their missing animals - especially cats whose independence often gets them into more than a scrape or two.

"However it still remains something of a mystery and I would be very interested to hear if anyone knows where Ziggy might have been for his missing weeks. It may well be that he is simply living in two homes and now and again gets fed up of all the other animals in my house and goes off to his 'holiday home' for some peace.

"If anyone can fill in any of the details of Ziggy's amazing story then I would be very happy to hear from them."

Anyone with information can e-mail Bill at billdale@manx.net.

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