Oscar, the cat nobody wanted found a loving home 300 miles away in Scotland after his plight went viral.
A team of RSPCA drivers formed a squadron across the country to get the Ginger Cat safely to its new home in Glasgow.
Its new owners heard about Oscar on Staffordshire Live after his story went viral last October and was shared 5,000 times from the Staffordshire Live Facebook page, reaching more than 320,000 people.
The ten-year-old was spending his third stint at Burton’s RSPCA shelter after returning from biting its new owner.
RSPCA officials warned that he could not be with other pets or children because of his “lively nature”.
He was called the cat that no one from the animal welfare group wanted because not a single person cared about him, although he had spent most of his days busily drawing the staff’s attention through the glass door to his cage.
Its new owners are Liz and Ian from Glasgow.
Liz said, “This was our first time hearing about Oscar, probably the way the rest of the world beyond Burton heard about Oscar. The newspaper article stated that it was his third time back at Hillfield.
“He seemed to have a ‘certain reputation’ and this had made it harder to take in. What I got from the article was that he was a cat who just wanted to live life on his own terms. That didn’t sound this is different from most cats!
RSPCA staff say goodbye to Oscar as he leaves the shelter for his new home in Scotland
(Image: rspca)
“We had previously had a cat (health problems had taken him far too early in February 2020) that, to someone else’s eyes, would have sounded exactly like Oscar’s description.
“Anyway, I was 300 miles away in Glasgow and we were all locked. What could I do?
“So I went to look at the website and every week the number of weeks Oscar was at the shelter went up. And every week a little more details about him were posted and another photo was added, and every week my heart broke a little, but more thoughtful.Nobody was going to take this little guy home and give him a chance.
“I’ve even called the shelter a couple of times, but distance has always been an issue, especially with the lockdown.
“While talking to the team, I learned that people from all over the world had contacted you about Oscar, even from Australia – maybe Glasgow wasn’t ready after all?
“And then the lockdown restrictions finally eased and Oscar was still waiting.
“When the team said that if we could solve the transportation problem we would take him there was no hesitation. A squadron of RSPCA drivers took him from the shelter to Carlisle, where we met them and took Oscar home.
Oscar has found a new home again
(Image: RSPCA)
“The team has been amazing across the board. They’ve helped us with everything to do with adoption. We can’t thank them enough. They said goodbye to Oscar and I have no doubt they all miss him already . “
“He’s only been here less than 24 hours, but he’s exploring the house, getting to know us and now sleeping in the chair nearby where I set up my ‘desk from home’.
“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve already seen some behaviors that might have led him to even get that reputation, but after a very long journey in multiple vehicles and the stress and fear he must have felt, It is really nothing. He even sat on my lap for a few minutes last night without encouragement or persuasion, he’s a lovely, friendly guy.
“It’s all good and we will keep telling him that he is safe here with us, he has nothing to fear, we are not going anywhere, and in eight weeks, when he is finally out in the garden, he looks great me I’m sure he’ll be a much happier boy with a lot less frustration. But right now he’s as good as gold which matches the color of his lovely coat. “
