An eight-year-old cat was left out in the cold for a week waiting for her owner - who had died.
Poor Ada, a tabby, was sat on the windowsill of her home in Paddington in West London for a whole week before she was rescued by The Mayhew Animal Home.
It was only when the neighbours noticed that the cat had been sat still for a couple of days outside the house that they realised something was wrong. They then saw that the cat flap had been boarded up, and immediately called the animal shelter.
The Welfare Officers at the shelter took Ada straight to the home to check her health and, amazingly, she was fine. It turned out that the executors of Ada's previous owner's will had had the cat flap boarded up.
Alisa Ford, an Animal Welfare Officer at The Mayhew Animal Home, said: "We found poor Ada pacing up and down outside her home, unable to get in – it was heart-breaking to see. We believe that she was in the front garden for a week before we were alerted to her being locked outside.
"She is such an affectionate cat; we can't imagine how terrifying it must have been for her to be left alone so long. That's why it so important for pet owners to make arrangements for their animal, otherwise they could end up in a similar situation to Ada.
"We at The Mayhew wish whoever had boarded up the cat flap had alerted us or another cat shelter."
The Mayhew, which has been open since 1886, looks after unwanted or neglected pets and rehomes them. Last year, they rehomed 306 cats and 86 dogs, and they also provide training for vets.
Happily, Ada has since been adopted by another family. Her new owner, Heidi Thomas, said: "Me, my husband and daughter visited The Mayhew twice and fell in love with Ada. She is now starting to hop onto laps for a stroke and a cuddle and gives us head bumps all the time.
"Ada loves sleeping and has various places throughout the home that she dozes in. She loves looking out of the window watching birds and people pass by."
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