Toast's slice of fame after towpath trip

Toast is back home with his made Beans after his adventure

But if it wasn’t for the fact that Toast’s owner had him microchipped, it’s doubtful he would have been reunited with his family.

Toast’s owner Kian Palmer, a mum of two boys, said: “It’s a mystery how he got there really. He is a bit of a scaredy cat. On June 4 he went out of the window at 6.30pm. At 7pm I went out and shouted him back and he didn’t come.

“The day after he still hadn’t come home. My neighbour’s car was parked at the back of my house and we found his collar and a lot of fluff in the engine bay, but no Toast. My neighbour went to the hospital in Lancaster and he must have jumped out there and run off.”

Kian did everything she could to get Toast back including putting posters up and posts on Facebook.

It turned out that a couple in Catterall had been feeding him.

“At first they thought he was their cat but it took them a few days to realise he wasn’t their cat,” said Kian.

“They took him to Lanes Vets in Garstang and found he was chipped.

“I had rung the microchip company and flagged up he was missing so when the vets scanned his chip, it came up that he was a missing cat.”

Kian said she had no idea how Toast got from Lancaster to Catterall but he may have gone along the canal towpath.

“I’ve got two young sons, Tristan, seven and Elijah, three, and we were so excited when we got the phone call to say he had been found. It took him a couple of days to settle in but he is fine now.

“He is back with my other cat Beans. He is never going out again!”

Rosemarie Horner, who lives in Catterall and found Toast, said: “I noticed he was trying to get into the cat flap and then he snuck in and ate all the cat food.

“We took him to the vets and he was scanned. We are absolutely thrilled that we found his home.”