UKRAINIAN RESCUE CAT BECOMES REGULAR AT LOCAL BRITISH PUB AND ‘NEVER WANTS TO LEAVE’

Life was looking bleak for Rocket the cat after his owners were forced to abandon him as they fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As he struggled to adapt to living on the streets of the devastated city of Irpin, he was hit by a car, badly injuring a back leg which later had to be amputated.

Today his life is very different – he lives peacefully in Birmingham and his favourite place to be is in the local pub with his new owner.

The remarkable story of how the three-legged cat ended up in a new home 1,600 miles away began with a change of fortune after his accident.

He was taken in by a makeshift animal shelter where he was spotted by British volunteer Wendy Lloyd, who was delivering aid.

At that stage Rocket had not even been named, as he was not expected to survive, but Wendy felt compelled to help him.

After arranging emergency treatment at a vet, she secured the paperwork to bring him home.

Wendy, 41, said: “The place he was staying was very cramped – through no fault of her own, this poor lady was inundated with 40 to 50 lost, abandoned and injured animals. I decided there and then to rescue him.

“We were in Lviv headed back when suddenly the air raid sirens started going off to warn us that shelling was imminent. The noise just goes through your bones – it’s terrifying.

“Eight missiles came over our heads and we had to sit tight – the cat was the only one of us who wasn’t panicking. So the name Rocket seemed fitting.”

Wendy says Rocket is very settled in his new Birmingham home, adding: “He doesn’t do cat things as such, he comes to the pub with me and has become a regular at the Twelfth Man in Edgbaston.

“He travels there in my back-pack and never tries to run away.

“The irony is before Rocket I was not not even a particular fan of cats. I’m a dog person. But it was clear he wanted to live and he won me over.”

Story time

The Mirror People’s Pet Awards Dog of the Year has a new job, thanks to a remarkable connection he made with another one of our winners.

Max the Staffie, who bounded on stage wearing a special doggie tux, had been used in dog fights before he was rescued by Amelia Piper, 19.

He went on to become an assistance dog for Amelia’s disabled sister as well as an ambassador for the Senior Staffy Club, a charity that helps rehome older members of the breed.

Max and Amelia made lots of new friends at last year’s star-studded awards, including Refuge4Pets founder Dr Mary Wakeham, who won a Special Recognition award for her work helping people and animals escape domestic abuse.

Now she has asked to be an ambassador for their charity and help them raise funds.

She says: “I was so inspired by Max and his story when we met at the People’s Pet Awards. As we are a charity helping both people and animals, it seems only right we have Max as our Ambassador.”