It’s always heartbreaking when a pet goes missing, but it’s important to not lose hope. Sometimes animals return to us when we least expect them — and in the most unexpected ways.

That was the case for one family, who recently heard their doorbell ring in the middle of the night and got an unforgettable surprise.

According to PIX 11, the Whitley family recently moved to a new home in Mastic Beach, Long Island, and worried how their 8-year-old cat, Lily, would react to the change in neighborhood.

Their fears were confirmed when, two weeks after the move, their pet cat went missing. They searched their new neighborhood, but days went by with no sign of the feline, and they started to worry she was lost for good.

“Normally she comes home, but this time felt different and I didn’t think that Lily was coming home,” Stephanie Whitley told PIX 11.

“It felt like forever when she was missing,” she told People.

A surprise at the door But four days after Lily disappeared, while the family was at home in the evening, they were surprised by the sound of their doorbell.

They wondered who could be visiting them so late in the evening — but when they checked their Ring video doorbell camera, they saw someone they never expected.

It was Lily — who had not only found her way home, but also suddenly knew how to use the doorbell!

Happy to be home Needless to say, the family was as overjoyed as they were surprised.

“We all gasped. We were laughing. We were emotional. We were crying. It was a great moment,” Stephanie told PIX 11. “I don’t know how she found us, but she definitely knows what the Ring camera is.”

The owner recalled hearing the cat’s cries at the door, and it was as if Lily was as eager to come home as they were to have her back.

“It sounded like she was mimicking my kids saying ‘mom,’” Stephanie told People. “You could tell the difference from a regular meow.”

It’s surprising to think that a cat understands how to use a doorbell, but it’s not the first time a missing pet has rang to let their owners know they’re home.

Last year, an escaped dog went viral after ringing the doorbell upon his return home, which was also captured on a Ring doorbell camera.

It seems our pets are smarter than they seem — and are able to pick up some unexpected skills from their humans.

We’re so glad Lily is home safe and sound — and returned home in such a funny and unexpected way!

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<Source by: https://www.theanimalclub.net/cats/missing-cat-returns-home-surprises-family-by-ringing-doorbell-we-all-gasped/>