Loving home needed for "unluckiest cat in the West Midlands"

But staff and volunteers at Cats Protection’s Halesowen branch are still hopeful Sophie will find her "forever home".

The tortoiseshell has been desperately searching for a permanent home after her owner died more than a year ago.

Branch chairwoman Sue Widdows said: “We think Sophie’s the unluckiest cat in the West Midlands – but we really hope her luck is about to change

“Sophie would best suit a quiet home with no young children or other pets.

“She’s lovely natured and just wants a home where she can live out her days and where someone will love her.”

Rescue cat Sophie first came into the care of the Halesowen branch in December 2017 after her owner died.

She was adopted last January but the owner "had no choice" but to return the cat to the branch just a month later as Sophie failed to get on with the owner's other cat.

The eight-year-old then went missing from her second owner's home just two weeks after she was adopted last April.

Six months later she was found wandering in a garden, but her bad luck continued as her owner had already adopted another cat and now cannot keep Sophie.

Ms Widdows said the team are wishing Sophie gets the "happy ever after she deserves".

She added: “We all hunted high and low for Sophie for weeks, but there was no sign of her. We’d given up hope that she’d ever be found.

“Six months later, out of the blue, we received a call from a lady who had found a thin and very hungry cat in her garden.

“We asked her to take the cat to a vet to see if it was microchipped so the owners could be traced, which she did – and it was Sophie! We think she’d been living outside and fending for herself.”

To adopt Sophie, call branch welfare co-ordinator Dave Widdows on 07913 301788.