A CIRENCESTER teenager has been reunited with his beloved cat - thanks to a social media page for lost animals.

Barnaby Welch had saved all his money to buy a half Siberian kitten he fell in love with. 

Luna was dearly loved and fast became the ruler of the household, even keeping the dogs in line. 

But one day she didn’t come home. Barnaby’s whole family were devastated and spent hours knocking on doors, putting up posters and walking around Cirencester calling her name.  

Barnaby’s mum, Jo Welch, also posted pictures on social media, including on the page Animals Lost and Found in Gloucestershire. 

There were a few ‘sightings’ which came to nothing. The days rolled by and Barnaby and his family grew increasingly worried.

Then one evening, six weeks after Luna’s disappearance, Jo was scrolling through her Facebook feed when she came across pictures of Luna on the Animals Lost and Found in Gloucestershire page.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Jo.

She and Barnaby compared the pictures they had on their phones with the ones on Facebook and were certain it was Luna. 

Jo messaged Louise, the owner of the Facebook page and found out that Luna was all the way over in Gloucester. To this day no one knows how she got there.

She was being looked after and fed by a 17-year-old girl called Sweet Pea and her friend Sarah. When they heard that Luna’s owners had been found, they took her to Louise’s house to be reunited with Jo and Barnaby.

It transpired that Luna was pregnant at only 18 months old herself.

“She now is the very proud mummy of two divine kittens who are causing chaos already at just six weeks old,” said Jo.

“It is doubtful they will be rehomed. They are too loved to part with.”

Sweet Pea and Sarah have been to visit Luna and her babies and have become friends with Jo and Barnaby. And Louise continues to run her Facebook page and has reunited over 200 pets with their owners since she started in 2015.

“Social media has its downsides, but this is a prime example of how much good it can do,” said Jo.