Doorbell Camera Captures 'Absolutely Shocking' Moment Missing Cat Returns Home After Weeks Away (Exclusive)

"When I saw the footage, it made me tear up and brought all of those emotions back," Kitters the cat's owner tells PEOPLE.

After disappearing for over a month, Kitters the cat returned home to a joyous reunion, which was captured on a doorbell camera.

Ring is sharing the emotional moment one of its doorbell cameras caught this year to celebrate National Cat Day on Oct. 29.

The heartwarming incident occurred in April, over a month after Kitters the cat disappeared from his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Kitters owner, Lauren, he and her other cat, Max, are indoor/outdoor felines, which means they are given access to the outside world throughout the day.

Earlier this year, after letting Kitters out of the house, Lauren noticed the cat did not return at the end of the day, which happens occasionally. Lauren and her family started worrying about the feline after he failed to show up for a week.

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"We drove around everywhere and called for him. We posted his information and pictures on neighborhood groups and Facebook, hoping that someone had seen him," Lauren tells PEOPLE about Kitters' disappearance.

After more weeks passed with no sightings of Kitters, Lauren started to worry that something horrible had happened to her pet and that she would never see him again.

"I had been so upset for weeks that he hadn't come home yet. I thought about him every day and was beginning to lose hope. We let our cats outside but have never had one stay out for over a week. I was so worried," the pet parent says.

Everything changed on April 10 when Lauren was about to drive away from her home when she spotted Kitters running towards the front door.

"I was absolutely shocked. I immediately stopped my car and followed him to the front door. I was so happy and relieved that I began to cry. I thought he was gone for good," Lauren says.

Lauren grabbed long-lost Kitters at the front door, triggering her Ring doorbell camera to start recording. This allowed Lauren and her family to capture the moment the cat made it home.

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In the clip, Lauren grabs Kitters from the front door area of her Tulsa home and holds the pet close as she starts to cry and repeats, "Oh my God!" Lauren then knocks on the front door several times to get her mother's attention. Once her mother opens the door and sees Kitters, the family shares a joyful hug.

"In the moment, I didn't even realize that my Ring video doorbell had been recording. When I saw the footage, it made me tear up and brought all of those emotions back. It made me realize how grateful I was that he came home and how much I missed him," Lauren says of the video.

The pet parent adds that Kitters returned with no visible injuries or issues, so she believes someone might have cared for the cat for several weeks, thinking he was a stray.

"To this day, we do not know where he disappeared to when he left. Since he came home in great health, we assume someone may have thought he was a stray and taken him in. He had to have been inside somewhere, or else he wouldn't have looked the same," Lauren says.

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These days, Kitters is still allowed to roam outdoors, but his family keeps a closer eye on him. They've outfitted his collar with a GPS tag so they can always find him if he decides to roam far from home again.

"Kitters is doing amazing today. He is happy and healthy back home with us. We haven't had any other issues since then. We still let him outside, but we are much more cautious and aware of him now," Lauren says.

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