Her beloved moggy fled just months before Susan Manson left her island home in Scotland in 2011.
So when a stray cat resembling Mona was found last week, the 34-year-old, who lives back in Lerwick, Shetland, dismissed any thoughts that it could be her beloved pet.
After seeing the photo of the moggie hiding under trash cans on a local Facebook group for missing pets, Mrs. Manson pushed the idea to the back of her mind, not thinking it could be real.
But when she compared the markings to old photos of Mona, her ‘denial’ subsided and she began to realize it could really be her long-lost pet – last seen 13 years ago.
She started searching the animal’s old ‘hangout places’ and eventually found her under the tanks where she was pictured – not far from where she lived all those years ago.
Mona went missing in Shetland in 2011, just months before owner Susan Manson moved
They were finally reunited after Mrs Manson borrowed a humane trap from the Scottish SSPCA to capture her.
Mrs Manson, who moved to England after Mona’s disappearance, admitted she had assumed the cat had died but was now ‘buzzing’ to have her back in her life.
She said: ‘I’m just over the moon.
‘It’s a bit surreal to be honest. When the photo first appeared, I didn’t say anything at first because I thought “definitely not.”
Susan Manson and daughter Merran with photos of Mona taken over a decade ago
‘I still can’t believe this even happened. You hear that cats come back after two or three years, but thirteen years is quite a long time.’
As a precaution, Mona was taken to the local vet for a check-up and apart from suspected arthritis, the 16-year-old cat appears to be doing well.
Mrs Manson has now created a temporary enclosure under her stairs so that the animal can gradually get used to her new environment.
It remains a mystery where she lived all these years, but her owner said ‘someone must have fed her, because she was still quite friendly’.