A CAT that was found on a golf course has been reunited with its owner after going missing for 22 months.

Faye Compton was taking a stroll around Oak Park golf course in Crondall when she spotted a ginger feline looking more than a little cold and wet.

Being a pet lover and owner of nine cats with excellent animal intuition, Faye knew the cat wasn’t there to practice his putting.

Faye said: “I just knew that he must be someone’s pet.

“I couldn’t bear to know he was there alone when he could be reunited with his owners if he had a microchip.”

Faye donned her deerstalker hat and started to investigate.

There were several posts on social media from people who had seen the cat asking if anyone knew the owner.

Faye noted a post from Peter Reynolds, one of the golf course greenskeepers, on Friday, February 8, mentioning the cat had been at the course for several months.

Faye paid Peter a visit at the golf course and discovered the cat had been living under one of the portable cabins on site.

Peter had befriended the cat and even named him Gaston.

With Peter’s help, Faye took Gaston to the vet in one of her cat carriers.

Castle Vets in Upper Hale, Farnham, were very keen to help and confirmed the cat had been microchipped – the importance of which could not be underestimated as the chances of finding a lost pet without a microchip are incredibly slim.

The vet checked the number and the results confirmed he was, in fact... a chihuahua!

After correcting a misread number from the microchip, it revealed the correct answer – his name was Ernie.

He even responded with a delighted purr at the mention of his name.

A phone call to the owner was answered by Jilly Glenny, who was asked if she had a missing cat.

She responded: “No, they are both in the house with me.”

After a brief pause, Jilly continued: “I did lose a cat nearly two years ago but surely it can’t be him.”

After a few questions it was confirmed this was her missing cat who had disappeared 22 months earlier.

There were tears of joy over the phone, with Jilly adding: “The lady who was in the changing room in my shop pulled the curtain back and asked if everything was okay.

“I laugh when I think what I must have looked and sounded like, blubbering away.”

Jilly quickly closed her shop – No.3 New and Nearly, in Hartley Wintney – and went straight to Castle Vets.

She said: “When I picked him up at the vets he was purring and I was sobbing. What a pair!”

After a couple of weeks of care and attention, Ernie is fit and healthy again and happy to be home.

Jilly continued: “Ernie and I have a bond and he is so happy to be home, I am more than happy.”

Faye is sent updates every week to let her know how Ernie is getting on.

Ernie would also like to say he’s retired from golf. If he can’t master it living on a golf course for two years, he never will!