A YORK cat nicknamed ‘Houdini’ has made a miraculous reappearance - NINE years after vanishing.

‘Houdini’ - real name Mia - had a habit of loitering around platforms at York Railway Station and it is thought she may have found her way onto a train all those years ago.

Her owner Tracy Durham, who lives in Holgate, York, had lost hope of ever seeing her cat again.

But two weeks ago she was contacted by the RSPCA to say Mia had been found - in Oldham, near Manchester!

When the RSPCA called out the blue, Tracy says she nearly didn’t answer as she thought it was just a cold-call.

York Press: Tracy Durham, from York, was reunited with Mia the cat who she lost nine years ago

Tracy said it was an “unbelievable” feeling when RSPCA staff told her that Mia had been found by a woman in Oldham.

The woman had taken the cat to the vets after finding her roaming the streets, and it was discovered Mia was micro-chipped with Tracy’s details.

Tracy said she jumped on the train to Oldham the next day to retrieve Mia and bring her back home to York. After picking up her lost cat, Tracy said everyone on her return train couldn’t believe their story.

York Press: Mia was found in Oldham nine years after she went missing in York

Shortly after returning to the city, Mia seemed to be highly stressed and thin - to the point that Tracy feared she may die.

But, after taking her to the vets, Mia is now on a number of medicines, including steroids - and she is getting back on track.

Tracy recently split from her partner, so she said Mia has come back to her “just at the right time”.

Tracy said: “It’s like it was meant to be. We are healing together, we’re both in the same boat. She has been so loveable since she came back - and she seems to still know her name.

“She sits in the kitchen, often meowing for food and sunbathing.”

Tracy also has a pet Chihuahua called Lexy - and Mia is now working on getting used to the dog as well as her new home - as Tracy has moved around the corner from where she lived when Mia went missing.

York Press: Lexy, Tracy's Chihuahua

“It’s a slow process, but we’re getting there. I’m just so glad Mia is home now,” Tracy said.

Tracy has no idea what Mia may have been doing - or where she has been - over the course of the last nine years.

She said the RSPCA speculated that Mia may have been taken in for a time by a new owner who had then moved on and left the cat behind.

She said Mia was adventurous and mischievous as a kitten - and would often be spotted on CCTV on train station platforms by York Station staff.

“We used to give her the nickname ‘Houdini’ as she would disappear,” Tracy added.