A St Albans ginger tom cat thought to have been reunited with his family in time for the New Year has turned out to have been the wrong feline.

Karen Gordon and her family, were over the moon when they thought their long-lost loveable friend Thor had re-appeared after more than three months, but their joy was short-lived when it unfolded that the cat they had taken home was not theirs, but actually his doppelganger, Albus.

Karen went to pick up the cat from The Green Dragon pub on December 29 and he initially seemed very pleased to see the family. They had thought their 18-month-old ginger and white cat had walked over two miles from their home in Highfield to London Colney, and then returned to the pub where they had last seen him.

They were at a friend's house when they saw what looked like Thor on a Facebook page. They immediately left and went to the pub, where he ran over to them and started rubbing against them.

Karen even took the cat to the vets to have his microchip checked and thought all was set for a purrfect 2020.

But then Helen Russell, the owner of the ginger cat - Albus - got in touch to say that Karen had her cat and asked if she could go and collect him. Karen agreed to another vet check and was mortified to discover that Thor must still be missing.

Helen said: "I really feel for the family. They really thought it was their cat. They were devastated when they brought Albus back to us.This is the second time he has been mistaken for another cat. People often think he hasn't got a home or that he lives at Willows Farm, which is his stomping ground."

She added: "Thor and Albus do look very similar - I can understand why the other family thought it was him."

Karen said: "The cat we found looked exactly like Thor but was actually Albus, who belonged to someone else. Albus was a lovely houseguest. We are still hoping Thor will be found."

The family are still hoping to have Thor home this year and would really appreciate if people could check their garages and sheds and be on the lookout for him.