Joy as 'naughty' Presley the cat is found after hitching a ride around Portsmouth in a recycling van

Domestic long-haired cat Presley had been missing for five days after going on his latest ‘adventure’ in Tipner.

His owner Danielle Geddes had been trying to track the three-year-old feline using an Apple AirTag device on his collar after he vanished from his favourite haunt near the Portsmouth Harbour Cruising Club.

And when the electronic tracker pinged yesterday morning, in ‘the middle of Port Solent Marina’, Danielle feared her beloved pet had stowed away on a boat.

But then, hours later, the tracking device pinged once more, showing Presley on the M27 – sparking confusion.

Despite mobilising friends and family on Facebook to join a search, a hunt near the M27 did not turn up the missing cat.

Then, in a sudden strike of inspiration, 29-year-old photographer Danielle thought that perhaps Presley might have been stuck in a car or van.

‘I sat down for the evening and thought of the area he usually roams, next to the sailing club is a recycling facility, TJ Waste,’ said Danielle of Harbour Way, Tipner. ‘For some reason I googled it; there is another facility located just up the road from the last gps ping from Presley’s AirTag

‘Suddenly I thought maybe he could have been stuck on a truck and ended up there.’

Armed with torches and a couple of pals, Danielle searched the site last night.

‘When I walked into that yard, my phone immediately updated,’ she said. ‘I knew he was within 15ft of me. It was unbelievable.

‘I immediately looked down on the floor and realised he wasn’t there. I started screaming loudly,

‘Then I could hear him meowing. I have not cried like that in a long time, I was so joyful. I had been in tears most of the day.

‘I can’t believe we have actually got him. It felt like the whole of Portsmouth was with me. Everyone was looking. I had people out last night in the dark searching with their children and torches.’

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Danielle – who owns five other cats – added it was not the first time Presley had disappeared, claiming he regularly vanishes for days at a time to jaunt around Tipner

‘I can’t keep him in,’ she added. ‘He is very naughty. He just wants to hunt. But when he didn’t come back and the tracker dropped in the middle of the marina I lost it. I thought he had got on a boat and sailed from Tipner to Port Solent.’

Presley is now ‘grounded’, added Danielle. The photographer added she was incredibly grateful to all the people who helped share her appeal on social media and who joined in with the search to find Presley.

‘This is simply a Christmas miracle,’ she said.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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