A GUNNISLAKE family had an extra special start to the new year when their much-loved cat was returned to them ? after going missing for four months. The Mann family had virtually given up hope they would ever see Simba, a distinctive Bengal cat again, after he disappeared from home on August 22. Karen said: ?We put posters up everywhere, we looked all over the place, we knocked on doors, but after four months we were beginning to lose hope, we never thought we would get him back. ?Then suddenly out of the blue, the Margaret Green Foundation at Wingletang Kennels rang us and said someone had handed him in to them.? Apparently Simba had been found on farmland on Dartmoor and was taken to Wingletang by Mr Dawe, who lives at Princetown ? his daughter had seen the cat with his distinctive leopard-like markings near where she worked, at Dartmeet. Karen said: ?Luckily we?d had him micro-chipped. They scanned him at Wingletang and worked out who he belongs to.? Karen said Simba looked ?a bit thin? and rough looking and was going to need veterinary treatment, but otherwise seemed fairly healthy. ?I think he?s been living off his wits,? she said. It is not known how Simba managed to get to the middle of Dartmoor from Gunnislake, but he has been given a huge welcome back by the Mann family, including children Shannon and Charley, who are delighted at his return home. ?We would like to thank Mr Dawe and his daughter for all their help in getting him back to us ? and the Margaret Green Foundation and everyone else involved,? said Karen.
