Amy O'Dell (22), of Dunedin, said the tortoiseshell cat was lost after getting ''spooked'' as she moved from Oxford St in South Dunedin early last year.
After moving to her new home in Maitland St, Miss O'Dell said, she frequently returned to search the old neighbourhood and distributed flyers to animal shelters.
After months of searching for Goobah she eventually lost hope.
And when she read the Otago Daily Times article earlier this month about six cats found dead - three hanging from trees - at Navy Park in Oxford St, she feared the worst.
''I freaked out thinking one of them could be her.''
About a week ago, out of the blue, an image of Goobah appeared on Facebook when a friend ''liked'' a photo posted by Dunedin Cat Rescue.
''She just popped up on the internet.''
The cat had been given to the charitable cat-rescue organisation by Gardens Veterinary Clinic in North Dunedin, after an elderly woman wanted the cat euthanised, she said.
The elderly woman had been feeding Goobah for the past 16 months but had never let her inside, she said.
Goobah was happy to be home and sleeping indoors, Miss O'Dell said.
''She's exactly how she was before - purring and affectionate.''
The cat had grown up with her daughter, Lily O'Dell-Harvey (3), who was pleased to have Goobah back, Miss O'Dell said.
Dunedin Cat Rescue had returned Goobah with free cat food and cat litter, she said.
Founder Sarah Davey (24) said DunedinCat Rescue was given six cats in the past week which had been taken to vets to be euthanised.
The cats had included three 8-week-old kittens dumped by a woman outside CareVets in Mosgiel.
Vet staff confronted the woman who told them if they did not take the cats she would ''drown them in the Taieri [River]''.
Dunedin Cat Rescue fostered out the cats and then advertised for a ''forever home''.
The group aimed to reduce stray cat numbers in Dunedin with a trap-neuter-return method, where volunteers trapped stray and feral cats, which were then neutered and returned to the place they were found.
