A LONG-LOST tomcat has been reunited with his owners in a ‘purr-fect’ ending.

Jimmy was discovered malnourished near Hurn T&J caterers in Nuttall Street, Accrington.

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The ‘paw-sitive’ outcome saw the missing moggie returned to his owner after 10 years.

During this time, the black cat with nine lives came away from a car accident unscathed and has now returned to a loving home.

Cllr Peter Britcliffe ‘catnapped’ the 18-year-old tomcat from the streets and took him to the vets during a routine appointment for his own pet cat, Noodles.

On discovering that Jimmy was microchipped, they traced his owner to a home in Baxenden.

The tomcat has changed hands three times in 10 years before winding up on Oswaldtwistle’s streets.

Judith Murray, 73, said: “I am so happy he is home.

“He is not in a good way and to see him look like he does is really worrying.

“I feel angry that he was found in this way.

“But he will have the best treatment we can give him.

“He eats three times the amount of our other cat, Mr Darcy, who is twice his size.”

Jimmy has been on an adventure since Mrs Murray and her husband Derek, 74, took him in as a stray from the RSPCA 18 years ago.

The couple had “no other choice” than to find him a new owner a decade ago after Jimmy kept getting into scrapes with their own ginger tomcat, George.

Mrs Murray said: “We tried everything to solve the problem but finally decided we would have to give him up for adoption and he found a new home with a lovely lady.

“One Bank Holiday Monday after that, we had a call from the RSPCA to say he had been knocked down on Whalley Road.

“We heard that the lady had moved away from the area and let him go, which was just so horrible.

“He then went to live with another couple because they asked to keep him and promised to love him.

“That was the last we heard until last Wednesday when we had another call from the RSPCA to say Jimmy had been found abandoned.”

The Murrays were away at the time, so Cllr Britcliffe and his family took Jimmy in for the weekend until their return.

He said: “He looked like he was a stray but we found that he was chipped.

“We managed to trace the owner and they were delighted to get him back after such a long time.”