A missing cat from Manchester has been miraculously reunited with his loving family six years after disappearing.
Handsome black and white cat Raffael – who is better known as Raffi – disappeared from Mustafa Javed’s home in the Old Trafford area of Manchester just before Christmas back in 2016, and after the family searched for their missing four-legged friend for a good few months, they eventually gave up hope that he would ever be found.
But miraculously, earlier this year, the Javeds received a call from the RSPCA out of the blue to say that a cat had been found with matching Raffi’s description, according to BBC Manchester.
Raffi was found when RSPCA inspector Rachel Henderson was called out to see an injured cat that had been discovered in the garden of a property in the Manchester suburb of Longsight, before taking him to RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for treatment an abscess on his back.
After the feline had spent some time recovering, a quick scan of the microchip brought up the Javeds’ details, and the family were contacted to say Raffi had been found.
Manchester cat reunited with its family six years after going missing / Credit: RSPCA
“The children were so excited, it’s all they could talk about. I think the whole family was stunned and shocked as we’d been through the grieving process and had even had a burial for him to try and bring about some sort of closure.
ADVERTISEMENT
“So to hear that he’d been found alive after all this time, it really was a lot to take in.”
With Raffi and the Javeds now having been reunited, and the feline settling back into life at home after six years missing, Mr Javed says he hopes their story shows how important a microchip can be and inspires other families to consider it for their pets if they haven’t already.
RSPCA Inspector Ms Henderson said she was “shocked” to hear how long Raffi had been missing for.
ADVERTISEMENT
She says she was “delighted” to be able to let the Javeds know the good news that their furry family member had been found alive after over half a decade as it had “obviously been an emotional time for them”.
“They’d grieved and understandably moved on in the years since,” Ms Henderson added.
“But seeing the joy on their faces now their much-loved pet is back is something I will remember for a long time.”
Featured Image – RSPCA
Trending
Get Baked is giving out FREE slices of its viral multi-layer chocolate cake in Manchester next week
Thomas Melia
The viral bakery known for its impressive multi-layer chocolate cake is offering slices of its huge sweet treat for free when it opens in Manchester next week.
If you’re fed up of your friends in Leeds banging on about how good Get Baked is, then don’t worry because, the headline-grabbing independent bakery is landing in Manchester next week, and if that news wasn’t sweet enough to tempt you to the new opening as it is, they’re also offering out free slices of their ‘Bertha’ cake to the first 1,000 people in the queue.
Get Baked’s first ever Manchester location will be in the Northern Quarter in the heart of Stevenson Square meaning you can pair your Aperol spritz with a serving of chocolate cake this summer… can life get any better?
The massive chocolate cake is inspired by the dessert featured in Roald Dahl’s book ‘Matilda’, later turned into a film adaptation in 2002, and its name ‘Bertha’ is a spin off the original ‘Bruce’ cake.
Rich Myers, who is the founder and creator of Get Baked, recently put out a statement on Instagram to explain why the company recently took the decision to increase a slice of ‘Bertha’ cake from £17 to £20, saying they’ve received nothing but love from people understanding the rising costs of owning a business.
Get Baked’s Manchester is soft-launching on Friday 14 March, but it’s the following day (Saturday 15 March) when the 1,000 slices of ‘Bertha’ will be up for grabs.
“Expect it to be a bit all over the place, because the first day of a new site is never easy. But that’s okay, because on the second day, we’re giving away 1,000 free slices of Bertha,” Get Baked announced on Instagram.
So if you fancy your luck at securing a slice of free cake, head down to Get Baked at 1 Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, from 12pm on Saturday… but let’s be honest, you’ll probably need to get there much sooner.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Trending
Real hawks hired to scare off pigeons ‘causing problems’ at northern train stations
Emily Sergeant
Northern has hired real hawks to help scare off pigeons who are ‘causing problems’ at train stations across the region.
You may remember that at the back end of 2023, the rail operator declared that it wanted to ‘force pigeons to take flight’ by trialing a whole host of new deterrents at stations across its network, and did so by positioning plastic owls around some platforms to scare them off, along with a host of other special measures.
As well as the fake owl statues, Northern also started using a special gel on ledges and roof trusses that’s designed to trick pigeons into thinking the surface is too hot for them to land on, and to really hammer it home, noises that simulate predatory hawks were broadcast out of massive speakers too.
But now, they’re ready to take things up a notch.
Introducing Maverick and Zulu, our skilled Northern hawks addressing pigeon concerns at stations. ⁰⁰For years, birds have posed challenges for both customers and staff, as well as stations due to their corrosive droppings. ⁰⁰After various attempts to resolve the issue, we're… pic.twitter.com/kC856Cnxg3
Because Northern claimed the ‘pests’ continued to keep ‘flocking to stations and nesting’, two real hawks called Maverick and Zulu have now been deployed at a couple of stations in Yorkshire as part of a 12-week trial.
If they prove to be effective, the rail operator says the real hawks could be introduced at other Northern stations which have been ‘plagued’ by pigeons in recent years.
Northern is keen to assure customers that the hawks are ‘not being used for hunting’.
Real hawks have been hired to scare off pigeons ‘causing problems’ at northern train stations / Credit: Libreshot
“We have tried plastic owls and recorded hawk noises, but they weren’t an effective deterrent,” explained Alex Hornby, who is Northern’s commercial and customer director. “So now we’ve brought in real birds of prey to help us with our pigeon problem.
“The pigeons are a real nuisance for our customers and cause headaches for the station staff who have to clear up after them.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd February 2023 
