REMEMBER the cat that got stuck under a float at Chard Carnival last month?

You will be pleased to know the moggy, called Simba, has been reunited with his owner – in Taunton.

The amazing story of the cat – called Simba started back on October 3 when owner Alanya Handsford discovered the ginger tom had gone. A week later he was found underneath a float during the Chard Carnival procession and was taken home for safety by Selma Whitworth.

After making sure he had not been injured or traumatised, she by his impromptu role in the paradetook him back to East Street where he had been found, thinking he must be local and would return find his way back to his owner. But no such luck as the cat then made its way over to the outskirts of Ilminster and was found by Sarah Little in her garden near Broadway a week laterover a week after the carnival. Thankfully it was discovered Simba had been microchipped and was traced back to his owner.

Alanya said: “Thankfully Sarah took Simba to the Minster Veterinary Surgery in Ilminster and he was scanned for a chip – which luckily he has and he was brought back home to me.

“I’ve had Simba since he was an eight-week kitten back in October last year and I have thanked everyone who has helped.

“It was a very long two-and-a-half weeks of worry wondering what had happened to Simba. He’s my little baby and I cried when I got a phone call to say he had been found.”

Selma, who had looked after the cat following the Carnival, said: “I was so pleased when I heard the news – but how did Simba end up in Chard?”

A spokesman for Minster Veterinary Surgery said: “We scanned him to see if he had a microchip and he did. We got hold of the microchip data base and found his owner’s details and got straight in contact. Simba was as happy to see his owners as they were to see him."

“This is a classic tale on why microchipping is very important in reuniting people with their beloved pets.

“Without a microchip it is likely that Simba would have ended up in a re-homing centre and his owner would never have known what had happened.”