Abbey was carrying something too, a microchip embedded before her adoption from the Battersea Dogs' Home.
Treadaway said she had given Abbey up for dead when the SPCA called last month to say she was in their care.
The SPCA picked up the geriatric puss after she was spotted hanging around a dairy in Drury, 30km from the Treadaways' new home.
The organisation scanned her microchip, but it prompted more answers than questions.
The microchip was not on New Zealand's database, so an SPCA staff member contacted the international database.
The Treadaways' name popped up but the address was, obviously, out of date.
Updating the family's details on the microchip database had been "one of those things I meant to do, but never got around to", Treadaway said.
That's when a bit of luck occurred - a Google search found the staff member shared a Facebook friend with Damon Treadaway.
Contact was made and a slightly worse-for-wear Abbey was soon reunited with her family.
The cat the family sometimes called "a real Pom, because she's snobby" showed her appreciation, Treadaway said.
"She was purring and let us give her cuddles. She even walked past the dog without giving it a swipe."
SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said Abbey's story was a reminder of the value of microchipping and keeping details up to date.
