Readers may have noticed flyers on lamp-posts across Broughton last week appealing for information about the whereabouts of an extraordinary-looking Bengal cat called Olli.
He had gone missing from his home in Dublin Street North on 11 November, and all searches and enquiries had drawn a blank. His owners were concerned since he had been living with them in Madrid recently, and perhaps had not regained his sense of Edinburgh direction.
At their wits' end, they finally put an advert on Gumtree on Friday afternoon and on Sunday – the same day Spurtle got in touch to offer our cat-finding services – received a stream of emails from residents at the Belford Youth Hostel – a mile-annd-a-half away – saying they thought he had shown up there.
Their mystery arrival had not been allowed inside, but was fed in response to frequent, plaintive requests. The owners went straight over, and after a few moments of calling his name 'he came tearing through the gardens yelling back at us.' Olli is – by all accounts – a very loud cat.
'I cannot express how grateful we are to these lovely people,' owner Alison told Spurtle this morning. 'I have always believed that the world has more good people than we sometimes realise, and these past few days have proved that tenfold ... not only did they look after Olli, they made a real effort to find out where he came from and how they could get him returned to his home.
'Olli is ecstatic and has not stopped purring since.'
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