A GOBSMACKED family have been reunited with their lost cat after nearly six months following a freak coincidence.

Staff at Danaher Animal Home, in Wethersfield, were thrilled after seeing one of their rescue cats adopted ... by his original owners.

Kaylee Mullin, 22, from Great Leigh, had been searching for her cat Bosscoe after he went missing in January.

She was devastated after he vanished from the family home near Chelmsford City Racecourse.

Unknown to the family, the feline had already been picked up by the RSPCA in Chelmsford.

They thought Bosscoe was a stray and took him to the Danaher Animal Home ten miles away to be rehomed.

Staff named him Ludwig and put him up for adoption.

Kaylee was shocked when she stumbled across a photo of Bosscoe under his new name on Danaher’s social media pages, but delighted that he was safe and sound in Wethersfield.

A Danaher spokesman said: “Ludwig came into us as a stray, so understandably he was a very nervous chap.

“After we did a Facebook post to find him a forever home, his original owners contacted us as they suspected he was their missing cat.

“Ludwig, whose real name is Bosscoe, had been missing since January, and they were over the moon to find out Bosscoe was safe and sound.

“He’s now back home enjoying plenty of fuss and cuddles with his family.

“It’s always a special moment when we’re able to reunite owners with their lost pets.”

Kaylee added: “My family always joke and say he’s my perfect cat because he doesn’t listen – like me.

"He has always been a stuck-up cat and never answered to his name so when he ignored us again I knew it was him as odd as it sounds.

“We are very happy to have him back and I’m sure he is also – although in the photo he did not look like it!”