Winton woman Torria Cummings is happy to be reunited with her cat Ceaser. Photo: ODT / Luisa Girao
A Southland woman is overjoyed after a four-year search for her missing cat ended with a trademark high-five from the paw of her "best friend".
Winton woman Torria Cummings said she never gave up hope of finding Ceasar after he went missing when she moved to a new house.
Now after years of searching, tears and false alarms, the pair have been reunited.
''I still can't believe he is here - it sounds so cliche, but I just had this feeling he was still alive.''
It was a social media post from Farming Mums NZ and Furever Homes that led to the reunion.
The post was from a woman asking for help to check the sex of a ''stray cat'', which she had rescued from another family.
''I messaged her and said that my cat was missing - it was a long shot as it was so long ago.
''I sent some photos of Ceaser and then she asked me if there was anything you can distinguish that it's him - I told him he could high-five.''
She told the woman if she clicked her fingers, he would jump up and high-five and she replied saying it looked like him.
Torria Cummings knew it was her cat when he high-fived her. Photo: ODT / Luia Girao
Cummings said she could not believe it.
''I went there, I was trying to keep my expectations down because I've gone to so many places to see if it was him - and it wasn't.
''As soon as I went down there and he high-fived me - She was just like 'Oh my God, it's not normal for a cat to high-five. This is your boy'.''
Cummings was happy to have Ceaser back and said he was already fitting in with her children.
''They get jealous sometimes because I just cuddle him all the time, but he's just a part of the family again.''
Cummings adopted Ceaser when she was about 19.
While her family had many cats before, she had just moved into a new flat with her partner and thought it would be a milestone to have their first pet.
''I'm a cat person. Not like heaps of cats, one is enough kind of girl, but Ceaser was my first cat.
''He became my best friend and he still is, now that he's back.''
Years later, Cummings, who is a farm manager, moved to Wreys Bush.
In the same week, when she returned home for lunch, she could not find Ceaser.
''He was gone. So my husband and I went searching for him. We called out his name, went to the neighbours' properties, put posts on social media . . . But we had no luck.
''We repeated that so many times - we went looking for him for months, if not years, because I still had hope.''
Not long after, Cummings moved to another farm - but she never stopped searching for Ceaser.
During those years, there were a lot of false alarms, and whenever she was around Wreys Bush she called Ceaser's name, she said.
Cummings and her husband have had two cats and two children since then, but she always had ''her best friend'' on her mind.
''I kept seeing posts and being like, 'it could be him. I'll just go out and check him out'.''
Furever Homes volunteer Loanna Messman said the story of Ceaser and Cummings was a great example of owners who never gave up.
''To everyone with a missing pet, don't give up hope. Cats are incredibly resilient.
''We're overjoyed for them.''
This story was first published by the Otago Daily Times.