Boots the Tom cat returns to his family in Forbeshill, Forres with extensive and suspicious injuries after going missing for two weeks

A beloved six-year-old Tom cat who went missing has returned home to Forbeshill with extensive injuries following a mystery two-week ordeal.

Overjoyed to see him again, Boots’ owner Rebecca Richardson is now reassuring the family pet who somehow managed to drag himself home with a broken jaw and leg, plus seriously damaged tail and eye - injuries the vet has confirmed were inflicted during the time he was away.

Rebecca said: “Boots is like one of our kids. We got him from just outside Logie the day I moved to Forres from Shetland when he was a nine-week-old kitten. He’s a character with large ears and magnificent, long tail. When he comes home he makes his presence known with a meow to find our three-year-old daughter and say hello by wrapping his tail around her and giving her a head knock.

“He loves exploring outside but doesn’t often go far in case he misses out on treats!”

Boots went out on the evening of Tuesday, March 28 and did not return for breakfast on the following morning.

“I shouted him and banged his dishes together but there was no sign,” said Rebecca. “By 2pm I was really concerned.”

She posted appeals on social media and, despite not knowing the area very well as the family only moved to Forbeshill in December, they searched high and low over days ... then weeks.

Rebecca said: “There are so many sheds, garages and houses up here. We took our daughter in the car because she was keen to help. She held a tub of biscuits to shake with the window down.

“Someone suggested emptying our vacuum contents in our garden to entice him home so the Henry Hoover bag got scattered there, around the estate and nearby farmlands in small amounts.”

They posted ‘missing’ flyers on lampposts and through letter boxes. Rebecca also returned to their previous address to shout for the missing moggy.

Eventually, as hope was running out, Boots returned at 3.45am on Easter Sunday (April 9).

“I heard the catflap and a meow,” said Rebecca. “I called out ‘Boots’ and he meowed again so I ran downstairs - it was a miracle!

“He went straight for the water bowl as if he’d been in the desert. I picked him up for a cuddle and noticed how malnourished and weak he was. He smelled like he’d been in a shed or garage, oily and dirty. He also now weighed less than his little sister Peeka.”

Boots’ tail no longer worked, he had a limp and struggled to eat. He could not find the strength to make his way upstairs so Rebecca took him to his favourite spot above her pillow.

She said: “Boots purred his heart out while I lay with him until phoning the emergency vet at about 5.30am. I was able to take him in for 8am. We needed to know what had happened and how to help him, meaning an extensive investigation via X-rays.

“When I found out the number of injuries he has, I wept. How did he manage to survive so long then get home after all that time?”

The vet confirmed Boots has a broken jaw with an open fracture. His right eye socket is shattered and he is now blind in that eye with a bleed behind it.

His left leg is snapped above the elbow and his tail has been pulled from his back so has to be amputated.

Rebecca said: “She said it was curious that his leg had started to heal with new bone growth but his eye and jaw injuries seemed to be more recent as there was only a small sign that an infection was taking place.

“She thought it strange that his injuries were dotted around his body - inconsistent with car impact.”

Rebecca has reported the incident to the police and the SSPCA but, because she did not find him trapped and despite his injuries being suspicious, they admitted it would be difficult to prove they had been purposely inflicted without evidence.

She said: “It will take Boots a long time to recover but we will give him the care and love he needs to be safe and comfortable.

“I’ve been so overwhelmed with support. Thank you to everyone who has helped Boots fight his battle to recover. So many people getting behind him means the world to us.”

Rebecca has set up a crowdfunding link to help pay for Boots’ veterinary bill at https://gofund.me/02120af8.