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The owners of a cat who escaped from an Eastwood cattery last year are celebrating a “true miracle” after being reunited with their beloved moggy.

Black cat Max escaped from the Ratcliffe Luxury Cat Hotel in Ratcliffe Street, Eastwood, on Friday, July 15, last summer.

The elusive cat, who is black with a splash of white and a distinctive freckle in his eye, was then missing for 11 months while mother-and-daughter owners Heather Kent, Gemma Kent and Chloe Patterson desperately searched high and low.

Mum Heather, aged 54, said: “The weather used to cause us so much grief and worry. It was torture.

Chloe Patterson, 25, with Max the cat. Photo: submitted.

“This last month or two we had kind of come to terms with the fact he was probably dead and wasn’t coming back.”

But the family never stopped looking for eight-year-old Max and, with the help of the Eastwood community, continued to investigate sightings in the area.

After almost a year of searching, they were shocked to spot their missing kitty coincidentally last week.

“We got an alert about an unknown cat so Gemma and I went to have a look,” Heather said.

Max has been reunited with his owners. Photo: submitted.

“We saw the cat in question and it wasn’t him. But while Gemma was in the person’s garden, who should happen to pop by but Max? It was just unbelievable.

“He recognised us immediately but in the end we couldn’t catch him and he escaped again.”

A cat trap was then set on Newthorpe Common by helpful volunteer Mark Spencer and Max was discovered inside the next morning on Friday, June 16.

Heather said: “It’s mad that he was found only a few streets away from the cattery he escaped from. Especially as we’ve searched that area time and time again.

Max in the cat trap after living wild for 11 months. Photo: submitted.

“He’s got no fur on his nose which is a sign that he’s been sleeping rough, but apart from that he’s ok.”

Max has since been well-fed and groomed and is settling nicely back into his Shepshed home with his brother Pepsi.

“He’s just slept and eaten and fussed us and he seems completely content and happy again,” Heather said.

“It was a true miracle to find him out of the blue after all this time.

“Honestly, the way the Eastwood community has helped and supported us is the most heartwarming thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I can’t ever thank them enough.”

'True miracle' as family reunited with lost Eastwood cat after almost a year