IT was a dream come true, literally, for the Say family of Okehampton when 'Misty' the cat walked back into their lives after 64 days.

Despite vanishing without trace on December 17 after the family moved from North Tawton to Okehampton, Lyndon and Sarah Say and their daughter Claire always believed she was still alive and not too far away.

The couple searched the area for weeks and returned to their former home but to no avail. They placed an advert in the Times and got a mention on local radio without result.

Christmas came and went and so did torrential rain, snow and bitter cold but Mr Say never gave up the search, walking many miles through woodland tracks and along the banks of streams calling her name.

Friends and relatives gave up hope of finding 'Misty' but not the Say family and last Friday Mr Say even had a dream in which 'Misty' came into the garden and he exclaimed 'Wherever have you been?'

Amazingly on Monday evening the dream became a reality as Mrs Say was returning home after work — a cat dashed across the road ahead of her and it was Misty — a little thinner than usual but otherwise unharmed.

'It was incredible,' she said. 'I was delayed leaving work by a few minutes and as I walked up the hill to our house I saw a cat out of the corner of my eye.

'She jumped into the hedge and as I bent down to take a look I came face to face with Misty — it was a miracle.'

Mrs Say said at 14-years-old Misty must have been pretty resourceful to survive all the bad weather.

'If someone has fed her we are eternally grateful but she is a very shy cat and I do not believe she would have been in someone else's house all this time,' she added.

An examination by a vet revealed a number of ticks, suggesting she had been living wild and had been truly lost, not adopted by someone.

Misty has been re-introduced to her new home, and after checking every room, she has settled happily on her favourite spot on the landing.

A spokesperson for the Hatherleigh and Okehampton Cats Protection League said: 'Keep your cat indoors for a couple of weeks and only let them out prior to their mealtime to ensure they return.'

Misty was missing for 64 days — the Say family believe this might be a record — do any readers have a story which proves otherwise?