Tauranga cat found two months after being accidentally taken to the tip

Tim the tabby went missing in April at the transfer station. Photo / Supplied

It was a sad day for Penny Scutt and her family when their beloved pet cat Tim went missing after hitching a ride to the tip.

But happy tears were shed on Sunday as after almost two months of him being gone, they were reunited.

The 4-year-old cat's owners were in the process of moving from their Otūmoetai property and did not notice there was a stowaway when they took some rubbish to the Maleme St Transfer Station.

Penny Scutt said she and the family were tearful on Tim's return. Photo / Supplied

Scutt and the family had been searching for weeks and looked into all the reports and mentions of cats people had seen that looked like him.

When her colleague mentioned there had been a handsome cat hanging around her Greerton house for several days Scutt did not expect it to be Tim.

Only a few kilometres away from the transfer station, Scutt headed out on Sunday to see if the cat was still around.

She got out of her car and walked to some steps near a bush and called out his name twice.

"He came bounding towards me."

Affectionate and loudly purring, she said the sudden reunion was shocking and left her shaking.

"Oh, my boy, my boy."

Tim was keen for cuddles when he got home on Sunday. Photo / Supplied

She drove home nearly in tears and tried to play it cool to her children when she got there.

But the excitement had them all running out to see their family pet.

After some tears were shed the family spent the rest of the day with a happy cat, taking turns to check in on him "like a newborn baby".

Scutt said he was looking healthy despite his time away from home but they would take him to the vet for a checkup.