An adventurous cat is back home safe and well after an unplanned seven-week holiday in the Isle of Man.

Domino went missing in Peel in mid-August after straying one night from the deck of Rob and Sue Hancock’s 33ft sailing boat ’Okavango’.

Something of a sea cat, he had been sailing with the Hancocks since he was a kitten.

Kept in the island by bad weather, Rob and Sue searched for him for nearly a week without success before they reluctantly had to return home to Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire without him.

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They returned again in mid-September to chase up reported sightings of six-year-old Domino but with no success.

Their son Chris had taken to social media from his home in Bexhill, East Sussex, in a bid to find the missing mog, posting appeal after appeal on Facebook and assorted missing pets pages.

The response was fantastic. Seven weeks after he went missing, Domino was last week reunited with his family after being found in a garden in Patrick and taken to Ard Jerkyll where his microchip was scanned.

Kayleigh at the MSPCA handed him over to Rob at the Sea Terminal after driving over to Douglas to meet him off the ferry.

Rob said: ’When Domino disappeared it was out of character.

’I normally let him roam freely at night as he needs the exercise and won’t leave the boat in daylight.’

’The morning of his disappearance, we at first thought he would have mistakenly gone on the wrong boat, but a search of the marina showed no sign of him. I hoped he would appear the next night but he did not.’

The Hancocks now believe Domino was following the inviting smell of kippers and left the marina to investigate, but could not find his way back.

Rob said: ’When we left Peel we feared the worst, but ironically that night produced the first sighting unknown to us until our return to Wales.

’Due to the reports, we returned to Peel on a three-day visit in September and followed up all the sightings we had received but without details of those who had sighted him, we concluded it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.’

Domino was found as he ended up crying in a garden in Patrick. The owner took him to the MSPCA who scanned his chip which confirmed his identity and this led to the Hancocks getting a welcome phone call.

’Dom is healthy, if not a bit thin and rather dirty. He remains a bit bemused but glad to be home especially with regular meals. We are over the moon to have the little fella back,’ said Rob.

Son Chris said: ’My folks are overjoyed to have him back, as he is as much a part of the family as all of us. We always felt there was a chance and I never gave up hope.’

Chris said his parents have had Domino since he was a kitten and have always taken him sailing.

’They take Domino with them every time they go, be it for a weekend or two weeks. He has done this since he was a kitten and really enjoys it,’ he said.

This year, Rob and Sue were away for two weeks, sailing from Okavango’s home berth in Caernarfon, North Wales, to Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

On their return to Wales they called in at Peel, where Domino went missing on the night of August 13.

Chris said the response to his appeals on social media had been ’huge and heartwarming’.

He said: ’I re-posted the message and any potential sighting a good few times and each was met with an incredible response. It was fantastic.’

Chris thanked all those who shared the news, reported sightings and offered messages of encouragement. ’I can not thank you enough,’ he said.

He gave special mentions to the MSPCA, Milan Vets, police and the harbour office in Peel, Pets Unleashed, Lost and Found Pets IoM and Harley the Huskey’s missing pets page.