Time to nominate your pet cat for an award

CAT lovers across the UK are being invited to nominate their furry friends for the National Cat Awards.

Run by the charity Cats Protection, the annual event celebrates the nation’s most marvellous moggies, with heart-warming tales of devotion, courage and companionship. This year’s event also features a new Cat Colleagues category to honour the feline heroes who have helped their owners adjust to working from home, or have made going to work a little easier during the pandemic.

Owners have until noon on Thursday, March 10 to nominate their cat in one of four categories:

■ Cat Colleagues – Cats who bring joy to the workplace or make working from home a pleasure;

■ Most Caring Cat – Cats that positively impact a person’s health or wellbeing;

■ Furr-ever Friends – Tales of friendship between children and cats;

■ Outstanding Rescue Cat – Fabulous felines adopted from animal charities.

Over the past two years, the UK’s pet cats have played an even more important role in our lives – whether it’s keeping the kids’ company during home schooling, being a companion for people living alone in lockdown or simply being there during times of uncertainty.

From chilled-out cats that provide comfort and support to the mischievous moggies that make us smile, cats undoubtedly have a special place in the hearts and homes of millions of people.

We’re thrilled to once again be hosting our National Cat Awards and are looking forward to sharing many wonderful stories of moggy marvelousness.

We hope that by celebrating some of the UK’s most incredible cats we’ll inspire more people to consider adopting a cat in 2022.

Winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity cat lovers before being announced at a star-studded ceremony at London’s Savoy Hotel on August 4.

The winner of the National Cat of the Year will inherit the title from Minty, a three-legged moggy from Holywell, Wales, who helped sixyearConnor Raven cope with severe learning difficulties and medical conditions.

To nominate your cat, or for further information about the awards, log on to: cats.org.uk/national-cat-awards

Kate Bunting, Cats Protection awards organiser