Missing New Jersey cat reunited with family after more than 2 years

WANAQUE, New Jersey -- A New Jersey cat that went missing more than two years ago is back home.

Jimmy, a brown tabby, disappeared after being let out of its Wanaque home on Sept. 13, 2014.

Owner Susan Zelitsky told The Record it wasn't unusual for Jimmy to spend time outside. On the night that Jimmy went missing, Zelitsky said her husband let Jimmy go outside, but when she called for the cat to come in, he was nowhere to be found.

She and her family searched and put up posters, but couldn't find the cat.

The West Milford Animal Shelter Society said Jimmy was found 10 miles (16 kilometers) from home in the town's High Crest section during the March blizzard. Zelitsky said a friend on Facebook posted the shelter's picture of the cat.

Zelitsky went to the shelter and Jimmy started to rub against her. He nipped her when she rubbed his belly, which he always did.

"I was convinced it was my boy," she said. "I called my husband and he came to the shelter. When he saw Bob, he did the same head-butt."

Zelitsky said the cat was very familiar with the layout of her home, and has been doing many of the things he had done in the past, like sleeping on his favorite dining room chair.

"If it wasn't for the wonderful people at WMASS, we would have never had this happy reunion," she said.