A five-year search for a missing pet ended in a miraculous reunion this week after a cat allegedly stolen from its owner’s property was finally identified and returned home.
Danielle Arme, 37, was left heartbroken when her beloved kitten Bodhi suddenly disappeared in July 2021.
In a double blow, Bodhi’s brother Braxon also vanished, leaving the step-mother-of-three devastated.
Danielle put posters up around her neighbourhood in Chellaston, Derby, and asked locals but no one had seen either of the grey tabbies.
Braxon was found a few weeks later but Bodhi was still missing.
She was forced to give up hope of ever seeing Bodhi again and eventually moved home.
Danielle was stunned when a vet called her last week to say her long-lost pet had been found 20 miles away from where he was last seen.
She said: ‘I burst into tears, I was so shocked.
Danielle Arme, 37, was left heartbroken when her beloved kitten Bodhi suddenly disappeared in July 2021 (Pictured: Danielle Arme with Bodhi the cat)
Bodhi’s brother Braxon also vanished but was found a few weeks later (pictured: Bodhi and Braxon)
‘There’s not many cats that go missing for that long and come back to you – it was just so surreal.
‘It’s crazy, I shouted his name when we met and he came totting on over, it was like out of a film.
‘He rubbed his head on me and was purring. He was so loving after all these years.’
The Rolls Royce worker believes Bodhi and Braxon had been ‘cat napped’ in 2021 before being dumped miles from home.
She said: ‘The heartache I felt when they were both missing was unbelievable.
‘I got two boy cats from the same litter. I got the boys in 2020, around the end of May, I moved house with them.
‘They went out but never went far and they were lovely boys.
‘But then in July 2021 Bodhi was taken.
‘People around her suspected someone was responsible because six cats had mysteriously disappeared.
‘There was never any proof so the police never got involved.
According to Danielle, an unidentified individual was reportedly taking local cats and abandoning them miles away from their homes
‘The rumour was that someone was taking the cats and dumping them miles away.
‘When my two boys went missing I was posting letters through doors and spreading them far and wide.
‘But nothing came of it. It was really heartbreaking, I was heartbroken if I’m honest, I’m a real cat mum – these are my fur babies.’
Months later, Braxon was found wandering the streets 20 miles in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.
Danielle recalled: ‘That same week more cats were found in the same area after that.
‘I shared a poster of Bodhi around the Facebook spotted page in Uttoxeter in case anyone saw him but no one had.
‘The years rolled by and I thought he was a goner.
‘Then this lovely lady called Viccie Mahon from Sudbury messaged me through Facebook last week and asked if I ever found my cat Bodhi.
‘She said she thought she had him and he’d been living around her cottage and living under her car port.
‘I moved house twice since Bodhi and the second time around I’d not updated my new address on his chip. Viccie had been trying to get hold of me since last year.
‘She searched Bodhi’s name on Facebook and lo and behold, my poster from all those years ago came up and she managed to windle through pages that I’d posted on and message me.
‘It was nothing short of a miracle.’
Danielle has since kept Bodhi indoors and vowed to keep a close eye on him.
