A cat was rescued from a Durham prisoner’s home after surviving on drinking water from a dripping tap and eating dried pasta for five weeks.
Four-year-old Luna was rescued after a warden from Durham Prison contacted the RSPCA to say that an inmate who had been on remand for five weeks had told them he had left a cat in his property.
An RSPCA inspector gained entry to the house on March 27 this year with the help of the landlord who was unaware his tenant was no longer living there. They were confronted by floors strewn with rubbish, clothes and household items and at first there was no sign of Luna.
RSPCA Inspector Garry Palmer had feared that Luna would be dead, but that, thankfully, wasn’t the case. Inspector Palmer said: “We found Luna curled up, stuck under a chair in a void with a crisp packet on her head.
“She’d survived by drinking from a tap which was dripping in the kitchen sink and possibly water from the toilet. It looked like she’d eaten packets of dried pasta and other food which she’d scavenged from a cupboard.”
He said that it was incredible that Luna remained alive after so many weeks. He added: “If it hadn’t been for the prison warden passing the information on to us and the tap dripping in the kitchen she wouldn’t have got out of that house alive, so in that sense she was a very ‘lucky’ cat.”
Luna was temporarily housed at the Great Ayton Animal Centre, where she ended up becoming the longest staying resident by August 2024. However, she now has a new owner called Marian, who lives in County Durham.
(Image: RSPCA)
Marian, who lost her previous cat through ill health last November, said: “It said she was being overlooked and was now the longest staying cat so I knew I had to adopt her. When I heard about what had happened it seemed even more of a reason to give her a good home.”
She plans to give Luna the “best life ever, and added: “She loves cuddling up next to me, although she normally doesn’t sit still for very long. She’s a strong willed character and knows exactly what she wants.
“I think that’s probably why she survived on her own for as long as she did, she really wanted to live. It upsets me when I think about her past and how long she’d been on her own in those terrible conditions but she’s safe now and being loved and spoiled rotten.”
(Image: RSPCA)
Beverley Dunn, cattery supervisor at Great Ayton, said: “Cats come into our care for a variety of reasons, but Luna’s story was particularly sad and upsetting for our team. She was a happy and confident little character and a joy to care for.
“We firmly believe the right home is out there for every animal in our care, sometimes it just takes a little longer to find, and we’re so grateful to Marian and all the other people who have adopted animals from Great Ayton this year.”
There are currently 20 cats in RSPCA’s Great Ayton Centre. The charity has recently launched its festive appeal after 23% of pets were left abandoned or at home alone during the Christmas period in 2023.
Marian’s full name has not been used due to the circumstances in which Luna was rehomed.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/durham-prisoners-cat-rescued-rspca-30623653
