Hundreds of adoring fans have offered their condolences after hearing the news that Roy, the legendary Home Bargains cat from Tondu, has been put to sleep. Roy's owner, Brian Aubrey, announced the news on the "Roy Spotting" Facebook group.
"With a heavy heart we helped Roy over RAINBOW BRIDGE this morning," announced Mr Aubrey. "Thank you for all the love you gave him, and he loved you all, fly high big boy."
Roy was a famous figure in Bridgend after he took to hanging around in the local branch of Home Bargains in 2017. People loved him so much they would visit the shop just to buy him a treat - and in September, 2019, Mr Aubrey's grandson, Dafydd Phillips, set up a Facebook page so his granddad could see just how well-loved Roy was.
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Dafydd told WalesOnline: "When I first set up the page, I never expected it to get as big as it did if I am honest. Roy was loved by so many, and brought so much joy to people, so much in fact, people would travel miles just to come see him! One person we cannot thank enough is Janet Brady from Maesteg Animal Welfare Society who took Roy in and did everything she could to nurse him back to health. However, old age just got the better of him."
The group now has 3,800 members, and hundreds posted their condolences this morning. One mourner said: "Gutted. Bless him x. So glad I was privileged to have met him while visiting from Yorkshire. Sweet dreams."
Another said: "What a sad loss to all who knew him. Roy means king, and he was definitely that, a king of friendliness, cheerfulness, caring, and most of all a King of Love. RIP dear boy."
Some have already called for a plaque in Home Bargains in Roy's memory. There is already a donation box in the shop in Roy's name, where shoppers can deposit items for cats who aren't as fortunate as Roy. Many have expressed their best wishes to Roy's owners, who had to make the difficult decision to have him put to sleep. Roy had been struggling with his health in his old age (his owners knew he was at least 14, but could have been older) and was struggling to eat.
Janet Brady, who had been taking care of Roy at the Maesteg Animal Welfare Society centre in his final days, posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 14, to say that vets thought Roy could have kidney issues or even a tumour, and that he had lost 2.5kg since April. Roy spent his final days sat in front of a fan to keep him cool in the record-breaking heatwave.
Janet said: "Roy, known as the Home Bargains cat, will be missed by so many people. Because of him our charity at Maesteg Animal Welfare Society benefitted from Roy's donation box.
"So many people visited Home Bargains, just to see Roy. At MAWS, we looked after him for his last few weeks, as he seemed to have gone slightly senile. He was sitting in the middle of the road, where he could easily have been run over, then not coming home! We decided to keep him so that he could remain safe in his twilight years. He was very settled here, but I think age had the better of him as he wasn't a well boy. He was a very old boy and had lived a lovely life after Brian took him in as a stray.
"He was loved by everyone in the area and all the visitors to Home Bargains. He had the following on FB as if he was a super star. He was a legend!"
Dafydd said: "We are going to leave the box instore in Roy's memory and encourage people to keep donating, or donate directly to MAWS."
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