A MISSING moggy who went astray for nearly a month was reunited with his owners after his picture appeared in The Watford Observer.

Oscar, a male tabby cat had been knocked down by a car and was badly injured when he was brought into the Park Veterinary Centre in Cassiobury Drive in Watford last month.

His owners, the Tindall family, from Elm Grove, Oxhey, had given up all hope of seeing him again until they spotted his picture in The Watford Observer.

The unlucky cat, who was treated for a fractured jaw and whose tail was so badly damaged it had to be removed, was reunited with the Tindalls on Monday, November 5.

Mr Robert Tindall said: "My kids saw the cat in the paper, we rang the vets and went to see him on Saturday but he wasn't well enough to come home. They had been calling him Morrison!"

The youngest in the family Alexandra, aged 10, is the one who spotted Oscar's mug on the back page and insisted it was their beloved pet. He was also welcomed back by mum Elizabeth and 14-year-old Fiona after his 26-day absence.

The family have owned the cat for two years. Mr Tindall said: "When we got him from our local vet we were told he had a heart condition and they suggested he was put down but we said we would give him a chance and for the last couple of years he has been doing well. But now this has happened - I think he is running out of lives.

Oscar was picked up in Oxhey Lane on Wednesday, October 10, and staff at the Park Veterinary Centre were not sure he would pull through.

But he made a good recovery, despite losing his tail, and staff contacted the Watford Observer in a bid to trace his owners before he was put up for rehoming.

Mr Tindall added: "We'd given up on him - we looked round for him and put notices up but when he didn't turn up we thought he must have been run over."

The family recognised Oscar immediately, despite his altered appearance. Mr Tindall said: "When we held him he growled at us and we knew it was him. He's a real character and is always getting into scrapes hanging out with a gang of other cats. We'll have to keep him off the streets for a while."

November 6, 2001 19:48

Jo Stephenson