by Adam Williams

awilliams@thekmgroup.co.uk

Heard the one about the cat with nine lives?

If ginger tom Teddy could talk, he’d probably have a few tales to tell. Now happily settled into a new home, he lived for 15 months as a stray.

But his adventures saw him travel just 400 yards across town before settling with a new family.

Reported missing in August 2009, Byron as he was then known, had just been rehomed in Craddock Road by Cats Protection. Lori Ashby had him for just a week before he fled with a lead and harness on.

Fast forward to last November and Byron begins feeding off scraps in Maureen Collins’ garden in nearby King’s Park. But as Byron had grown, the harness and lead around his neck had tightened, causing him discomfort and making him almost unapproachable to strangers.

With Cats Protection officers’ help and some coaxing into a trap, vets took him in to remove the harness and check him over. Records confirmed he was the same elusive cat from Craddock Road.

Animal sciences teacher Maureen, 50, said: “He’d been coming into our garden time since the first snows last winter and finding a warm place to sleep near our hibernating tortoises.

“Cats Protection were absolutely fantastic. Once they confirmed he’d gone missing 15 months earlier, they helped get him to the vets, pay for all the medical bills and find him a new home.

“He’s still quite timid around new people and can run off if strangers come round, but apart from that he does all the things normal cats do like curling up on the sofa.

“We think he’s probably about two and a half, as he was very young when he went missing.”

Lori, 42, who looks after seven other rescue cats, is delighted Teddy has a new home.

She said: “We would’ve loved to have him back, but at the end of the day it’s what’s best for him. I’m just glad he was found after all that time and someone’s given him a good home.”