Brightlingsea famous feline returns home after going missing

Max the Cat is regularly spotted walking along Brightlingsea beach, cuddling up to visiting daytrippers, and hanging out with locals.

Earlier this month, however, the one-year-old Bengal puss failed to return home for four days, much to the concern of his owner, Georgie Dunt, 35.

The business owner issued an appeal online and his legion of fans, who regularly post sightings of him on his social media page, got to work with the hope of tracking him down.

After 12 days Max, who recently underwent surgery after being hit by a car, was still nowhere to be seen and so Georgie started to fear the worst.

But then she received a positive sighting from a woman living in Hartlepool who claimed to have seen a photo of him online.

Georgie said: “A lovely lady called Lauren Loyd happened to stumble across a post from a lady in Suffolk asking if anyone recognised a cat that had been visiting their garden and playing with her giant staffie.

“I knew from the second I saw the back of Max in the picture and his description that it was him.

“I just want to say a massive thank you to not only Lauren but also to the lady in Suffolk.

“They have both refused any reward, because they are both absolute angels, but I will, of course, be sending a token of my gratitude their way.”

This is not the first time wandering Max has found himself miles away from home and cuddling up to another animal lover.

Last year, he went missing for seven days after a family took him back to their home in Luton thinking he was a stray.

Grateful Georgie, who runs Georgie’s Paw Pad, has now extended her gratitude to Max’s thousands of followers who helped get him home safe for a second time.

“I cannot thank everyone enough who has helped me look for Max,” she added.

“I was able to switch off at times knowing there were ideas for his whereabouts happening at all times.

“It really helped me remain as calm as possible, with the odd meltdown, of course, and positive. “