As a four-year-old cat in 2009, Alfie was a feline with adventure in his heart. His mom, Shelley Brockbank, said he was known for exploring and had a tendency to climb in open car windows. When he went missing, Shelley figured that might be what happened. It was the start of a very long adventure for Alfie that would keep him from returning home for 12 years.
But in those first moments of his disappearance from his Jersey home in the British Isles, Shelley had no way of knowing when or if her special cat would ever come home again.
She was heartbroken and did everything she could think of to find her boy, sharing with the Jersey Evening Post, “I put posters through letterboxes and contacted the animal shelter, to no avail.”
Shelley assumed Alfie was gone for good after a long period had passed and he hadn’t returned. However, viewing photos of a white and orange cat on the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter’s Facebook page brought back memories for the cat mom.
“To my surprise, there he was on the JSPCA’s Facebook page. He had been picked up as a stray. There was no mistaking, that was Alfie.”
The cat was certainly older and very thin, but there was no mistaking it was Shelley’s missing cat. When she brought him home from the JSPCA, Shelley shared, “He came out of his carrier and started rubbing up against my legs, my back – as close as he possibly could.”
“Twelve years after he left, I was finally reunited.”
Shelley’s family has grown since Alife’s absence, with the addition of a daughter and a son her cat never met. Alfie instantly became a great buddy in sister Amelia when he returned home to meet his new human siblings.
“He’s a new buddy in my daughter who loves him so much already despite never meeting him,” Shelley told the JSPCA.
At the beautiful age of 16, Alfie is happy to be forever home again after an adventure that saw him rehomed one time for certain in 2014 and probably a few other times along the way. But no matter where he’d been, he settled right in once back in Shelley’s arms. She was happy to say, “I like to think he remembers me!”
“I am so so glad he is finally home,” Shelley said. “Whatever time he has left, I am glad that we get to spend it with him.”
Shelley hopes “Alfie’s retirement will be a peaceful and restful one.”
We do too. Welcome home, Alfie!
