Owners left shocked as missing cat from Scotland found 300 miles away in Coventry
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Ginger and white cat, Beans disappeared from his home in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, in late October after venturing outside as usual. Despite their best efforts to locate him, his owners, Cara and Colin McBurnie, had no luck.
Weeks later, a surprising call from Cats Protection brought incredible news: Beans had been found alive and well in Coventry, thanks to his microchip.
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Hide AdMrs McBurnie said: “Beans loves to be outside and in gardens. He went out as normal because he likes to go for a wander but always comes home for some food, usually after a few hours. We searched and searched, looking everywhere. I didn’t really expect to see him again but joined lots of local lost and found Facebook pages, then further afield in Scotland. I didn’t think to look in England - I didn’t imagine he could have gone that far.”
Beans had travelled far beyond expectations, somehow ending up in the West Midlands, where Kelly Ryan first spotted him.“I have an outdoor cat box with some straw in it and started noticing a cat hanging around,” said Ms Ryan.
“I didn’t feed him straight away as I thought he was probably owned, then one night saw him sleeping in the cat box, and he was still there the next day, then the one after that. I just gave him a few biscuits to start with but heard he was going to visit other neighbours too, and it felt like he was around too much and that something wasn’t quite right.”


Concerned, Ms Ryan posted about the cat on Facebook, where Cats Protection stepped in. A volunteer scanned Beans’ microchip and identified him as missing.
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Hide Ad“I was so relieved when he had a chip and a loving family who had registered him as missing,” Ms Ryan said. “He really is a miracle, and I’m so grateful to the volunteers for helping him find his way home.”
The McBurnies made the 600-mile round trip on November 12 to bring Beans home.
Mrs McBurnie said: “I couldn’t believe it when Wendy (from Cats Protection Coventry) told me. I was shocked out of my mind that he was still alive and how he travelled over 300 miles.
“When we got him back, we let him out in the car for a cuddle, then put him back in his carrier for the long journey. We were all exhausted, and he slept in the bed all night by my husband. Even my other cat, Missy, was happy to see him - they had a nice moment and a sniff together.”
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Hide AdShe added: “I’m so glad we had him microchipped and updated his record. There’s no way he’d have come back to us otherwise.” While it remains a mystery how Beans made the journey from Scotland to Coventry, his story highlights the life-saving value of microchips.
Madison Rogers from Cats Protection said: “It’s a real testament to the power of the microchip that Beans could be reunited with his owners just 24 hours after being scanned. Without a chip, it’s unlikely Beans would ever have found his way back to the family who love him so much.”
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