A British family said the return of their cat after it vanished in 2007 was the "best Christmas ever."

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Cristel and Mark Worth of Princetown, England, said Willow was 6 years old when she disappeared from their home four years ago and they assumed the cat was lost forever until they received a call Tuesday from the Gables Farm Dogs' and Cats' Home about 15 miles away in Plympton, England, the Plymouth Herald reported Monday.

Workers at the shelter said Willow had been found by an elderly couple six months earlier and the couple had looked after the feline until there was room at Gables. Workers then used an implanted microchip to trace Willow back to the Worth family.

"We were sitting there, already in our pajamas, and we were gobsmacked," Cristel Worth said. "They told us we had 20 minutes to get to the Gables before they closed for the night, so we jumped in the car, still in our pajamas, and raced over.

"It's really only sinking in now, but it's the best Christmas present ever."