A TERRIFIED cat who was found in an abandoned house on Christmas Day has found a new home.

On Christmas Day 2018, staff at Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter (WARS) were busy distributing presents to all the animal residents when a member of the public approached them. They were holding a cat carrier which contained a little black cat which staff say looked 'terrified'.

The member of public had witnessed someone approach a garden of an abandoned house in Malvern Link, push the cat through the fence and walk away.

Spencer Harris Community and Events Fundraiser at the shelter said: "The thought of anyone doing this to an animal on Christmas Day, or any day for that matter, is just horrible."

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Staff took the cat in and quickly found out that she was quite elderly. Although they were able to find a spay scar and microchip, the microchip details were not up to date so they were unable to locate the owner.

Mr Harris said: "This cat was now a WARS cat and she would be loved and cared for like every other animal who comes into our shelter; just as if they were one of our very own companion animals."

The Malvern based shelter decided to call her Angel which they felt was appropriate considering the day she was found. Mr Harris said: "Angel settled in quite quickly, taking advantage of everyone’s attention to get lots of fuss, cuddles and treats.We found out that Angel was 14 years old – such a terrible ordeal for an elderly lady to go through."

The shelter put Angel on social media to see if anyone was interested in adopting her.

Bex Dowle spotted her on Facebook and offered her a 'forever home'. Mrs Dowle said: “She reminded us of our cat Sooty who died three years ago. The fact that she was 14 years old and just dumped at an abandoned house on Christmas Day really upset us so we decided that we should give her a home.

The next day we went to visit her at the shelter. She didn’t really want much to do with us but that didn’t put us off. The following weekend we collected her and took her home. We decided a new start at life means a new name so she is now called Ava.

Mrs Dowle said: "Within hours she was sat with us purring and our children were delighted to find out how playful she is. She loves chasing toys and has got quite a collection already. She can still be a bit reserved and shy but she is such a sweet little cat. She’s only been with us 11 days now but we are really glad she’s here and she can enjoy the rest of her life with us.”