Members of a Shropshire family are all smiles after their beloved cat, which had been missing since last Christmas, turned up just in time for this year’s festivities.
Sylvester went missing less than two weeks after Maureen Naven, of Pontesbury, had given him to her daughter Heidi to look after - and she has been searching for him ever since.
But when a young villager noticed an injured pet near her back garden she called the RSPCA for help.
An RSPCA officer went along with a cage to help catch the elusive feline and just over a week later Sylvester was taken to the Shropshire Hills Veterinary Practice.
Mrs Naven said: “The girl’s name was Amy, she has been brilliant, catching Sylvester and taking him to the vets.
“Amy was putting food out for him and they noticed that he had this injury.
“She phoned the RSPCA and it took them a fortnight to come out but when they did they lent her a cage. Just over a week later he went straight in.”
Sylvester had got his paw caught in his collar which left him with an injured leg.
A spokeswoman for the Pontesbury vets said: “Sylvester is bright and he is happy but he had his leg stuck in his collar for six weeks.
“A girl got in touch with the RSPCA and tried to trap him and then brought him in to us.
“If she hadn’t caught him I don’t think he would have done very well.”
Mrs Naven is now hoping she will get to meet Amy, who, she said, had been like a guardian angel for Sylvester and a secret Santa for his family.
The whereabouts of Sylvester during the 11 months he was missing remains unknown but all the members of the Naven family are delighted that he is back and will be making sure that he doesn’t disappear again any time soon.
“I have dreamt about him coming back, it is wonderful,” added Mrs Naven.
* Anyone who knows of an injured or distressed animal should contact the 24-hour RSPCA number on 0300 1234 999.
4 Comments
My wife and myself lost our cat in newport nearly 12 months ago and we placed a advert in your paper but with no luck so after reading this story today it gives us hope that we may get our tiggy back one day
What a nice story.
However, this should give other cat owners a note of caution. DO NOT use collars on your cat. Or if you do, use those that are designed to break if your cat catches them on things.
Has anyone else noticed the part where it says it took thr RSPCA two weeks to come out and then gave a girl the cage to do there jobs for them? What exactlly is there job?
In addition to what Matt states, its the elastic collars which are the most dangerous-I have seen so many stories of cats which have had their legs trapped in them, sometimes for so long or so tightly that the legs have had to be amputated.
Please, ensure your cat wears a collar with a breakaway catch.
I als agree wholeheartedly with sara. Call the Cats Protection instead! RSPCA deal on a kind of case merit (the most horrifying sounding or awful it is, the more likely they are to come and rescue straight away!)
Very glad Sylvester is back home with his family.