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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Sharon van Geuns & Nia Dalton

Missing cat who secretly lived in London Underground lured after terrifying ordeal

Runaway cat Mr Jingles must have used up a few of his nine lives after spending nearly two weeks trapped in a London Underground tunnel. The moggy spent his days dodging tube trains and live rails, only emerging at night to forage for food on the platform when the line was closed.

Station manager David Nobbs said: "He could have been hit by a train or electrocuted. Fortunately the Gods were smiling. I've been working on the London Underground for 16 years and you get all walks of life coming through the station, but never before a cat on the loose."

The drama began when Mr Jingles, a rescue cat from Dubai, escaped from his foster carer's home near Pimlico station, a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, and regularly used by MPs and political leaders.

Weeks after he went missing, drivers reported sightings of a cat and station staff heard mewing sounds from inside the tunnels, more than 50 feet below the streets of London.

David went in search of the source, and said: "I saw him in the distance and called to him by meowing down the tunnel and he replied to me. He was a very vocal cat.

"But he was too scared to come back on to the platform when the trains were running.

"He would come back during the middle of the night and we could see him on the CCTV, prowling on the platform and trying to catch mice.

"But as soon as anyone went near, he'd disappear back into the tunnel for safety."

Refusing to give up on the two-year-old cat, David placed some fish in a special box, which was set to close gently once the animal was inside.

Mr Jingles took the bait, and was finally rescued, none the worse for his underground adventure, apart from a thick coating of dust and soot.

He was taken in by cat charity Friends of Felines, who have now found him a permanent home with Charlotte Kemp, her husband and three children in the Suffolk countryside.

Jenny Jones from Friends of Felines said: "If only he could talk, he's had so many adventures. I really think he's used up most of his nine lives.

To support Friends of Felines and find out more go to their Facebook page @perfectlyplacedmoggies.

Pet pic

Maddy the Jack Russell saved Jordan's life by alerting her to a fire (TWFRS)

This little Jack Russell proved to be a lifesaver after alerting her owner to a potentially deadly house blaze.

Jordan Kent was running a bath when candles in her bedroom set fire to a dressing gown.

Her beloved pooch Maddy started barking furiously outside the bedroom door, and when Jordan looked inside, she was met by a wall of smoke and flames.

Firefighters arrived within minutes, and Jordan says that without Maddy, she would not have noticed the fire until it was too late.

She said: "It wasn't her regular bark as if she was playing, it was as if she was scared. If it wasn't for her I don’t know what would have happened, I'm so glad we got out and the firefighters were there so quickly."

Did you know?

We all know that sport and exercising with friends can be positive for our mental wellbeing. Now a new study has discovered that dogs can benefit from getting active with other pooches too.

Researchers from Tufts University in Massachusetts and the Centre for Canine Behaviour Studies in Connecticut found that dogs with anxiety issues were three times more likely to show an improvement after taking part in group activities.

Professor Nicholas Dodman, one of the authors, said activities that suit a dog's natural behaviour are most effective, such as a sheepdog who started taking part in sheep-herding classes.

Story time

A driver could not believe his eyes when he saw two micropigs standing at the side of the road.

When he stopped to investigate, he saw the porcine pair were tied to a post, and after keeping them at home overnight, he took them to the Lord Whisky Animal Sanctuary near Canterbury in Kent.

It's the first time in the sanctuary's 38-year history that micropigs - bred to be small and treated as pets - have been brought in.

The charity's Margaret Todd said the animals were friendly and showed no signs of being badly treated.

"I think somebody took them on because they thought they were really, really cute, which they are, and felt that they needed more looking after than expected," she said.

The pigs have now been successfully rehomed at a local farm.

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