Jason Donovan has revealed he’s been reunited with his lost cat five months after the ageing moggy went missing from the family home – because she was microchipped.

The ex Neighbours and West End star filmed the moment he picked up Pixie, his 14-year-old cat who disappeared from the star’s West London home back in January, from a vet’s. 

New laws in force from this week in England mean millions of pet owners face paying a hefty £500 fine if their cat is not fitted with a £20 microchip – and Jason might have just become an unlikely poster boy for the legislation.  

Sharing the ‘incredible’ emotional reunion with his 145,000 Instagram followers, Jason declared: ‘What a story, what a day’.

The 56-year-old recounted how his super-cute cat had been located miles away across the capital – after being given up for dead.  

He wrote: ‘After nearly 5 months missing, Pixie our 14 year old family cat was found alive yesterday on the other side of London.

Guess who’s back! A delighted Jason Donovan told his Instagram followers this week that his 14-year-old cat Pixie, who’d been on a five month adventure across London, was safely home, much to the star’s surprise

The star said he’d received a phone call from a vets across the other side of London, saying Pixie had been found thanks to her microchip

Happy together: Jason shared a snap of himself and Pixie safely back home in West London

‘Apparently she’d been looked after by an unknown for two months…what transpired before who knows!

‘What an incredible feeling to know that she was well and healthy and that she’d survived what could’ve only been an extremely traumatic experience.’

The star said he’d feared something might happen to the cat before he left for a visit to his home country of Oz, saying he had a ‘funny feeling’.  

He said an out of the blue call from a vets had seen Pixie safely returned home. 

He wrote: ‘A miracle (a phone call) proving that hope, a good heart and a bit of modern technology (microchip) have brought this traumatic chapter to a happy end. Good to have you back in the hood Pixie… You have been missed.’

The 14-year-old moggie was last seen by the family in January, and had been presumed lost – until technology intervened. This week, new laws were introduced in England that means pet owners face paying a hefty £500 fine if their cat is not microchipped

At the vets: microchipping cats means lost cats can be reunited – because their details are on a database that vets can access. Right: Pixie enjoying a meal at her West London home

Pixie pictured after returning to the family home: Jason called her return a ‘miracle’

The good news story comes just days after it was announced that microchips for cats are now compulsory by law. 

Millions of pet owners face paying a hefty £500 fine if their cat is not microchipped under new laws in force from this week.

More than two million cats in England are not microchipped, according to an animal charity.

The legislation makes it compulsory for every pet cat in England to be chipped before the age of 20 weeks.

Ministers hope the scheme will help reunite thousands of lost pets with their owners and deter pet theft.

But of the estimated 9million pet cats in England, up to 2.2million are still not chipped, according to data from the animal charity Cats Protection. 

Owners found not to have microchipped their pet will have 21 days to have one implanted or face a fine of up to £500.

There is currently no legal requirement to microchip cats in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Workers at the Derbyshire Cats Protection Centre noted that at least 66 per cent of the cats they encountered over the last twelve months were not microchipped. 

The centre’s manager, Helen Wood pointed out that it is incredibly difficult to reunite missing cats with their loving owners if they have not had the procedure.

Explaining the swift and non-dangerous ‘one-off’ treatment, Ms Wood compared the tiny chip to a grain of rice.

She told the BBC: ‘It’s very small and can be implanted by our vets very quickly.

‘It doesn’t hurt the cats, it’s like giving them an injection and they are then chipped for life.’

Veterinarian Tatum Stander, who works at Bright Side Vets in Swadlincote echoed the importance of having felines chipped as well as keeping their details updated.

‘One of the worst thing you can go through is to lose your pet,’ she added.

‘People think you get the microchip done and your details are updated automatically.

‘Please make sure your phone number and address is up to date on the system or we won’t be able to reunite your cat with the owner.’

Microchips have also been a saving grace for some owners like Sandra Sinclair, who have been briefly separated from their beloved pets.

Millions of cat owners could face an eye-watering £500 fine if they do not microchip their beloved felines (file image)

The chip tucked away in her cat’s skin was a lifeline for he teacher’s after her feline – Nutmeg – went missing in Tooting, southwest London.

The feline was later discovered wandering the streets of Ascot in Berkshire, 30 miles away from home, and was later reunited with his family after his microchip was scanned by Cats Protection.

Ms Sinclair said: ‘We have no idea how he got to Ascot. Did he jump into a delivery van or maybe someone attempted to steal him because he was so friendly?

‘Only Nutmeg will ever know, but my family and I are just so relieved we had him microchipped.’

Over one in four owners, who have not microchipped their pets have said its because their feline doesn’t explore the outdoors.

Another one in seven reasoned that their pet cat was identifiable by its collar alone, according to research from Cats Protection.

Microchipping a cat with a vet typically costs between £20 to £30, the charity reports. 

Madison Rogers, head of advocacy, campaigns and government relations for Cats Protection, said: ‘Some owners think they are never going to go through the trauma of losing their pet cat, but in the last year 115,000 pet cats in England went missing and never returned home.

‘Cats are nimble and extremely agile and can easily slip out without us noticing.

‘Many lost cats live a frightening life on the streets. No food, no water, no shelter, no veterinary care and constantly at risk of severe injury or death from many hazards such as cars and wild animals.

‘Collars can easily drop off, become damaged so that the address details become unreadable and, if they are not quick release, can become snagged on obstacles like tree branches, causing injuries to the cat.

The new rule comes into force in a bid to deter pet theft as well as reunite thousands of owners with their pets (file image)

‘A microchip is safe, stays with your cat for its lifetime and is linked to contact details that are stored safely in a database.’

Alice Potter, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: ‘We have seen cats coming into our care who are sadly not microchipped and may never be reunited with their owners.

‘On average, 11 per cent of all cats coming into the RSPCA’s care are still not microchipped.

‘We’ve also rescued cats who have been microchipped but the details haven’t been kept up to date, which is arguably even more frustrating as it means cats spend a long time in our care whilst we fruitlessly try to contact the owner with out-of-date information.

‘However, we’ve also seen countless stories of cats that have been reunited with their owners thanks to a tiny microchip – showing what this change of legislation will achieve for animal welfare.’