A Midlothian woman has been reunited with her beloved cat - a whopping 17 years after it suddenly vanished.
Kim Collier received the phone call she had been waiting nearly two decades for this week after her cat, Tilly, went missing in 2004.
At the time, Kim had just moved the pair of them from England to Rosewell, Midlothian, with Tilly disappearing not long after, not to be seen again.
A frantic initial search had been carried out, with Kim sharing information and posters all over the village. However, nothing came from her efforts, and the 39-year-old eventually gave up.
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However, in one last glimmer of hope, Kim had kept Tilly's microchip updated with her details, just in case she was ever found.
Then on Tuesday evening (March 8), Kim received a call that she was not expecting, with the SSPCA ringing to inform her they had Tilly in the back of their van.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the 39-year-old said: "The SSPCA called me out the blue asking if I had a cat called Tilly and I was thinking 'I did but ages ago'. The officer said she had her in the back of the van and I was like 'what?'.
"It was a very odd feeling, I didn’t really know if I was coming or going. My world was turned upside down...but in a good way."
After 17 and a half years apart, Kim was finally reunited with Tilly at the vet the same night.
Despite it being so long since they had last seen one another, Kim's proactive approach to keeping the microchip updated meant the SSPCA were able to contact her easily.
Although she had been gone for so long, Kim shared she was so surprised to be told that Tilly was found in the same area she went missing from.
She said: "I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, I was just changing my microchip details for my other two pets and it was wishful thinking.
"I was completely shocked and stressed when I got the call, I was thinking about how I was going to look after three pets but she is my cat, so I’m not going to give up on her."
A concerned resident had alerted the SSPCA after spotting Tilly in the local area - and it was just in the nick of time.
Tilly, who turns 20 this year, is suffering from a bladder tumour and is reaching the end of her life.
She is now receiving palliative care at Pentland Veterinary Clinic, where Kim works.
Kim said: "All the staff here are so nice and have taken her under their wing. She's got jumpers to keep her warm and gets to come in the office, she's very spoiled.
"The main thing is she is safe and the vets here are giving her amazing care. We know the outcome is not great but I just want to make her comfortable."
Kim hopes she will be able to integrate Tilly with her two senior cats at home, where she can live out her final days.
The vet nurse, who has worked in the sector for 20 years, insists she's never heard of pets being reunited after such a long time.
She now wants to use her own incredible story to raise awareness over the importance of updating microchip details - even if all hope seems lost.
She said: "She was found in the place she went missing, I could have had her back 17 years ago if someone had phoned the SSPCA before now.
"The lady that found her had just moved here and found her covered in matt and she was skin and bone.
"Nobody in the community had realised that she was missing before.
"People think cats are just hanging around and wanting fed but if you see one looking lost or in a bad condition it's important to call it in."
