Kerikeri couple reunited with beloved cat after 16 months

Davina Mokena was recently reunited with her cat Rusty, who was missing for 16 months. Photo / Jenny Ling

They may not have won the mighty $50 million jackpot but a Kerikeri couple reckon they've still won Lotto after their beloved cat returned home safely after 16 months.

The last time Bryan and Davina Mokena saw Rusty was after he'd been out wandering the property and getting into mischief with his litter brother Rocco on November 5, 2018.

Though Rocco returned home later that day, there was no sign of Rusty.

Devastated, the couple did everything they could to find the four-year-old ginger male; they posted his picture on social media and the Lost Pet website, informed the vet and their neighbours and friends.

Rocco was also traumatised and grieved for months, they said.

'We looked for weeks," Davina said.

"We thought he was dead, but we held on to something."

Holding on to this glimmer of hope paid off for the couple, who spotted a photo of their pet on social media on Monday.

It was a Waipapa resident who put the call out, having seen the cat hanging around their property for five weeks, sleeping in the phoenix palm and venturing up to their front door.

The Mokenas sifted through their photos and, after finding Rusty's markings matched up with the photos on Facebook, jumped in the car and drove to Waipapa to see him.

"We didn't get our hopes up because we thought 'what are the chances?', Davina said.

"But as soon as we saw him, we both knew it was him. He was purring like crazy. We just can't believe it, we missed him every single day."

Rusty in earlier times, getting up to mischief in the garden. Photo / supplied

A visit to the vet to scan his microchip confirmed the cat was indeed Rusty, who was in "amazingly good condition but starving".

"We had to stop him from eating, or he would have been sick."

The Mokenas will never know what happened to their inquisitive pet who they adopted with his brother from the Kerikeri SPCA when they were kittens.

It's possible he hitched a ride with someone, as he loved inspecting cars and would often hop in if the door was open.

At the time of his disappearance, linesmen were working in the area and often left their vehicle doors open due to the heat.

Davina said the biggest lesson she has learned through the ordeal is to "never give up hope of finding your pet".

"There were so many comments on Facebook from people saying; 'this has shown me never to give up'," Davina said.

"They said it gives them hope that their pet will come back too."

Other cases of missing pets finding their rightful owners include a cat called Garry who was reunited with his Masterton family last August, five years after going missing.

Also last year, Ben the missing huntaway returned to his owner, a year after going missing in rural Central Otago.

Since he's been home, all Rusty has been doing is "sleeping, eating and purring", Davina said.

He's settling back in; though it will take some time before he and Rocco are curling up together and playing like they used to.

The reunion with his long-lost litter brother hasn't gone altogether smoothly.

There's been "a bit of hissing".