An incredible Tom cat who survived an epic voyage to the UK from Egypt is now said to be recovering his strength in Colchester. The River Colne might not quite be the Nile, but after a voyage like that I expect the newly-named Pharaoh has had quite enough of water to last him a lifetime!

Having been checked for rabies, Pharaoh is now staying in quarantine before being re-homed. I would like to think, however, that finding a home for a cat with such a life story, especially in the Christmas season, won’t be too hard! What’s more, Jean Parish from Pan Air Services quarantine cattery said of Pharaoh that, “he must have had a very loving home because of the way he is with people… When you get cats out of containers quite often they’re wild, feral cats that lived on the docks”. Perhaps this very story will move somebody to give a home to this brave cat this Christmas. Of course, if you are interested do remember that a cat is for life; think about it before you take one on and make sure you can afford the time, food and pet insurance to give any cat the best possible life.