When a couple discovered their missing moggie had been found – they were delighted he would soon be home.

But when they telephoned the RSPCA they were told that he had already been re-homed – despite the fact that he had a microchip which means he could have been traced back to his owners.

Marine Coucoulis and Nathan Touboul, both 24 are now desperately trying to get their pet Booba back with a Change.org petition which currently has over 3,000 signatures.

Separated: Marine Coucoulins is devastated that her cat Booba has been re-homed

It has been reported that the confusion as to ownership arose because Booba was registered in France, through a French animal database.

However, Marine maintains that the RSPCA should have been able to tell from the first few numbers of Booba’s unique 15-digit microchip registration code that this was the case.

She said: “I was so happy when I read the posting saying that my cat had been found close to where I live and that he was safe and well. I had missed him so much.

Homeward bound? Booba was given to new owners by charity the RSPCA despite being microchipped

“But when I asked when I could come and pick Booba up they told me he had already been given to a new family. How could that happen when he was microchipped? It was awful.”

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We saved this cat’s life and nursed him back to health and actively searched for an owner by putting up posters, advertising him online and checking his microchip.

“Two databases were checked but we were told there was no registered owner. We are going to look into this further”.

For more information about this petition click here or email press.uk@change.org