A Wiltshire family who were reunited with their missing moggy after nearly five years have suffered another heartbreak as he’s gone missing once more.

The Bailey family moved away from Southwick two years after their short-haired black cat Bing went missing in March 2018.

They had jumped for joy after being reunited with him on Sunday, December 2 by Katie Miluk, of the Wiltshire and Somerset-based Search and Scan pet rescue service.

SAS was called out by a family who were responding to posts about another missing black cat called Zeus.

When the cat’s microchip was scanned, it turned out to be Bing, who by then had been missing for four years, nine months and three days.

Bing’s owner, Cheyenne Bailey, 29, said: “I could not believe it whatsoever when I had the phone call on Sunday afternoon.

“I had a missed call and then a text message came through from Katie at Search and Scan saying that Bing had been found.

“I was in complete and utter shock. I could not believe it. It was relief that he was okay.

“Bing has always been a cat that wanders. He has gone off several times before and sometimes it was up to a year.

“But he has always come back. I always had hoped that one day he would come home.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: One of the posters issued by the Bailey family went Bing went missing nearly five years ago. One of the posters issued by the Bailey family went Bing went missing nearly five years ago. (Image: Bailey Family)

Katie Miluk said: “Bing just went out one day and did not come home. The owners spent years trying to find him.”

“Some people contacted us to say Zeus had been found but the owners realised the cat was acting differently so they called SAS. When we scanned the cat’s microchip we found it was Bing.”

Bing was given to Cheyenne’s daughter Sophia when she was just one year old and went missing three years later.

Sophia is now aged nine and Cheyenne and her partner Bryan Henning, 35, have two more daughters.

Ivy, aged seven, and Iris, aged six, were so young when Bing went missing they can barely remember him.

Cheyenne said last week: “Sophia was over the moon and burst into tears. She said it was the best Christmas ever.

“When Bing was brought home she was just crying and shaking. She was so happy.

“Bing always used to sleep on her bed and she would cry when he was not there.”

But the family’s joy has turned to heartbreak again as Bing managed to escape through a bathroom window that had been inadvertently left open.

Cheyenne said: “He had been locked in for a few days and went to the vets on Friday for a health check-up.

“They said he was overweight and needs to go on a diet. His left back leg is also damaged and he didn’t want to stretch it.

“We’ve been searching for him since the weekend. Someone had left the window open after having a shower and he managed to get out.

“He did not show much discomfort and that explains why he has not been jumping on the sofa or the bed.

“It’s really strange because he did not show that he wanted to leave. He seemed quite happy and content. We just think that he likes going outside.

“We saw him in a bramble bush but we could not reach him and we lost sight of him after that. We’ve been searching everywhere and he’s still missing.”

The family are now leafleting their neighbours with Bing’s description in the hope that he can be found again.

Cheyenne added: “My daughter’s absolutely devastated that he has got out and has gone missing again.

“He has taken nearly five years to come back to us and we want him to stop with us now.”