Virginia - What began with a long search for Mackenzie Peterson's lost cat ended in a tragic moment the woman will always remember.

She had been searching for her missing cat for 24 days before she finally found him – but the reunion turned out differently than she had hoped.

The cat, whose name was Set, had escaped through the dog flap during the chaos of a house move.

"He slipped out of the dog door in the night at the new house," Peterson told Newsweek.

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"At first we thought he'd find his way back but after the third day we were beside ourselves," she added.

"Even the 20 min drive from one house to the other was very stressful for him," the pet owner explained.

When he disappeared, a nerve-wracking search began with posters, neighborhood help, and countless false sightings.

Then came the turning point – a phone call led Peterson to a street behind her house where Set had been spotted.

At a cautious distance, Peterson filmed the weakened, limping cat.

She didn't want to get too close so as not to scare the frightened animal, but before she knew it, Set had disappeared again.

The senior cat has been away from home for over a month now and seems to be "in feral mode," but Peterson is not giving up.

"Perhaps I'm the crazy cat lady, but he's been a part of my life for so long," said the devastated cat mom, who adopted him from a no-kill shelter 13 years ago.

"He's been with me since before I even had children of my own."