A pet cat has been returned to its family 12 months after disappearing into the bushland of far north-west New South Wales.
Bobby Cat, who usually lives on Allandy Station, 250 kilometres north of Broken Hill, was found more than 100 kilometres from home by fencing contractors.
Contractor Brett Andrews said he had noticed Bobby was friendlier than a feral.
"He sat in the car and was playing with the dogs," he said.
"He actually rode to town in the back in the tray with the dog. He didn't want to be in the cab of the ute.
"His first good meal was the bacon out of my bacon, lettuce and tomato sanga."
Mr Andrews took Bobby to Broken Hill Pet Rescue, which had him taken on by a foster carer while images of the cat were circulated on social media.
Owner had given up hope
Eventually Bobby was reunited with owner Georgia Luckraft, who said she had just about given up hope.
"I had heard cats can find their way home over a long distance, but it was starting to come up to 12 months and I was starting to think, well maybe this isn't going to happen," she said.
"Our area do a lot of 1080 baiting for foxes, so I thought the chance of him getting a bait was fairly high."
Ms Luckraft said the cat's survival in such a barren and hostile environment was impressive.
"As far as living out on your own, just being considered vermin, it's surprising that he hasn't been either shot or baited or taken by a pig. I think that in itself is pretty incredible.
"A whole year out avoiding all those obstacles is pretty impressive."
Ms Luckraft said she hoped Bobby had not gotten a taste for wandering.
"I'm really hoping that he wants to stay with us now. He's not going anywhere ever again," she said.
