An inquisitive cat who went missing after jumping into the back of a mattress delivery van has returned home after more than two months.

Yogi was spotted by a CCTV camera catching a ride on a Bensons for Beds van outside his home in Raleigh Close, Gravesend, on September 1, leaving owners Stephanie and Tom Giffard resigned to having lost him forever.

But while it remains a mystery where the five-year-old feline has spent most of the past two months, last Sunday he rocked up at the Martin household in Allhallows, Hoo and has now been returned home.

For Mrs Giffard, 28, and her family, the news that Yogi had been found was an absolute bolt from the blue.

She said: “We weren’t 100% sure what area he was in. We had quite a few possible sightings in Riverview and I spent a lot of time driving up that area.

“There was quite a lot of help from friends on social media, people went out and put up posters for me, and sent messages wishing he would make his safe return home.

“I told a friend that I would stop looking and it’s just a coincidence that just as I stopped diving around, someone got in touch.”

The Martin family had seen the appeal for information about his whereabouts on a Facebook group called “Gravesend and surrounding areas lost and found pets” and got in touch with Mrs Giffard through the group’s owner, Sheona Loveridge.

“She started sending photos and I got Stephanie and she said she thought it was Yogi,” explained Mrs Loveridge, 40, who lives in Huntley Avenue, Northfleet.

“We went down there and Stephanie said I think it is him. We ran a scanner to check and the database said it was a male tabby called Yogi.

“It was the power of social media that got Yogi home. A lot of cats go missing by going wandering from home, but Yogi was different. We knew the van’s route and he could have ended up in Dartford or Rochester.

“We think he must have got off in Lower Stoke. It would have been about a 40 minute walk for him to end up where he was, so he did well and was a lucky boy to get back home.”

She added: “This group is all volunteer work but to get the ending that Yogi had means everything. It’s so nice to be able to help reuniting an animal.”

Yogi had previously gone missing for eight days after getting trapped in someone’s garage, but despite his lengthy absence this time round, he was in great shape.

Mrs Giffard said: “He looked well fed and looked after, so I don’t know if he had been with another family before then.

“As soon was as we came in and I said his name he responded. My two-and-a-half-year-old Sophie didn’t go to bed until 10pm because she was so excited.

“Straight away he was back into his normal routine. He went straight to his food bowl and started meowing when he saw it was empty.”

Under the careful and loving watch of Sophie and three-month-old, Lucie, and back with his brothers, Tiger and Marble, Yogi has settled in like he’s never been away.

As grand an adventure as he’s had, he’ll likely think twice next time a delivery van swings by.