A globetrotting cat which made its way from Australia to Northern Ireland via London

• The 25-year-old ginger cat was found wandering streets of County Armagh
• Named Ozzie by staff, they found he was microchipped in Sydney in 2000
• Data also showed he turned up in 2004 as a stray at a vet clinic in London
• The race is on to find his original owners after as his kidneys are failing
• Do you know Ozzie - real name Tigger? Email news@mailonline.co.uk 

By Freya Noble for Daily Mail Australia and Gemma Mullin for MailOnline

Published: 18 June 2015

A globetrotting cat managed to make its way from Australia to Northern Ireland after a stop-off in London - almost 11,000 miles away.

The 25-year-old ginger cat named Ozzie by his rescuers was found wandering the streets of Laurelvale, near County Armagh last week and taken to the local Cats Protection centre.

Staff at the clinic scanned his microchip and were stunned to find the poorly feline was registered in Sydney in 2000 as 'Tigger'.

Traveller: Ginger cat, named Ozzie by his rescuers, was found wandering the streets of County Armagh, Northern Ireland. When vets checked his microchip they were stunned to find he was from Sydney, Australia

Huge trek: The feline, whose real name is Tigger, travelled more than 10,550 miles from Sydney, Australia, to London, before somehow taking off another 450 miles to County Armagh in Northern Ireland

The data also showed that he had turned up as a stray in a vet clinic in London in 2004 but no owner could be traced.

Volunteers launched an international campaign on social media to uncover how the moggy ended up on the other side of the world - and the post has been shared more than 18,000 times.

And the race is on as the animal, who was found in a starving condition and currently on a drip after suffering kidney failure.

The organisation says it is likely that Ozzie was taken to London by its owner, before he somehow then crossed the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland some 450miles away.

Cats Protection co-ordinator, Gillian McMullen, said: 'I responded to a call from a member of the public who was concerned about a poorly stray cat that had been hanging around her garden for several days. 

Rescue: The Cats Protection Centre is desperate to trace his owners and have launched an international appeal. The 25-year-old tomcat has suffered kidney failure and is currently on a drip

'The poor cat was starving but obviously had been cared for in the past because it was wearing a collar.

'I took it to Willow Veterinary Clinic, Portadown, where we discovered it was microchipped and this is where the mystery begins. The cat had originally been microchipped in Australia.

'In 2004 he turned up as a stray in a vet clinic in London, but no owners could be traced.'

Ozzie was also found to have been born in 1989, making him 25 - 10 years older than the age of the average cat. 

Ms McMullen added: 'If only he could tell us about his life and how he got here.' 

She also said that she is currently following up on a couple of leads since the campaign was launched but they have their 'paws crossed' on solving the mystery. 

• We're trying to help the branch trace Ozzie's owner. If you know them or think you have information that could help contact us on news@mailonline.co.uk.

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