Express & Star

Beloved cat Porky back with Brownhills family

"We had almost given up. It had been five months. But he's back, and we're just ecstatic".

Published
Sam Green and daughter Aaliyah with Porky the cat

A mother and daughter from Brownhills were over the moon when they were reunited with their beloved cat after he went missing for five months.

Eight-year-old Porky, who is vital in helping recognise when 16-year-old Aaliyah is about to have an epileptic seizure, suddenly disappeared in September last year.

He was normally home each day for feeding time, and Aaliyah and mother Samantha were heartbroken when they couldn't track him down.

But last week they received happy news – Porky had been found.

Samantha said: "He was found living in a barn on Great Wyrley Lane, quite a way from our house.

Sam Green and daughter Aaliyah with Porky the cat

"The lady who keeps horses in the barn had seen him and was feeding him. When she gained his trust – he had a carrier bag round his neck – she helped him and thought he must be someone's pet as he was so friendly.

"Eventually a local rescue home was able to take him in and they shared a picture of him on Facebook which my friend spotted."

She added: "To be honest, I had almost given up. It had been five months. I was just ecstatic when I heard. I went to fetch him within half an hour. I didn't tell my daughter, I waited until she was home from college. When she saw him on her bed she just burst into tears."

Aaliyah suffers from seizures, and the family realised when Porky was two-years-old that he was recognising when the teen was about to experience one.

He will sit with her and stay next to her when he realises she is about to have one – but if he disappears off, it means she won't.

Samantha added: "When Porky went missing Aaliyah's seizures got worse. When he went, it upset her a lot.

"When he came home I was worried he might have forgotten everything but he's settled right back in. It's like he never left."