A beloved pet going missing is always tough on owners, some of whom often spend much time and cash in search of the animal.

In a rather epic story shared over several Facebook posts by one Raine Lim, one long-lost pet miraculously appeared three years later — and over 30km from its original home.

New cat on the block

Lim first posted on Feb. 3 about a new cat she had seen around Blk 146 Simei Street 2.

The cat appeared to be in bad shape, appearing tired and grubby.

It's paws were streaked with mud and dirt, and Lim added that its claws were long and overgrown.

It also had cloudy eyes.

A short clip of the kitty showed how thin its body was.

Lim wondered if the cat was a long-lost pet.

Although she had contacted SPCA asking if they could take the cat in, SPCA apparently denied her request as the cat did not require immediate medical attention.

In the meantime, Lim said she would feed and clean the cat up, and monitor its condition.

A long-lost pet?

On Feb. 4, Lim posted a second "big update".

Lim's speculations that the cat was a lost pet turned out to be true.

She said that a woman had approached her claiming that the injured kitty at Simei looked exactly like her missing pet cat, Manis.

Amazingly, Manis first disappeared from its home in Jurong West in 2018.

Which leads to the conclusion that the small cat had possibly trekked from all the way from the west to the east over three years.

Here are some old photos of what Manis looks like.

Pretty similar to the cat in Simei.

Lim added that she was "90 per cent certain it's the same cat".

Reunited

The woman subsequently went down to Simei to verify if it was really her missing cat. Thankfully, the cat was the real deal.

Manis was finally reunited with its family after three long years.

Manis' owners told Lim that they first picked him up as a kitten at Toa Payoh.

When their house at Jurong West was undergoing renovation in 2018, Manis somehow escaped.

In a third post, Lim expressed her happiness that Manis had finally been returned to his owners, and urged those with missing pets not to lose hope.

"He is finally reunited with his family after three years!! This is honestly so so unbelievable, but I am truly so so happy that he is back with his family. Don’t know how he travelled from Jurong West all the way to Simei! But this is truly a miracle!!

To everyone that has a missing furbaby, don’t give up hope! There is a possibility that they are still out there, don’t stop posting about them, don’t stop looking for them. I hope one day all the missing pets will be reunited with their families, just like Manis did."

Top photo from Raine Lim / FB