Remarkable ginger cat who sits beneath the memorial of famous feline

09 June 2024 , 20:26

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Teddy and the statue of Garfield in Ely County Park, Cambridgeshire (Image: Faye Moore/SWNS)

A ginger cat loves to visit a memorial for a celebrity feline 'Garfield' - three miles away from his home.

Teddy, who is almost three, has always been a "character" according to his owner but his latest adventures have taken him to Garfield's memorial in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Garfield, also a ginger tom, reached fame after visiting his local Sainsbury's almost every day from 2012 until his death in 2019.

After he passed away, the community raised £7,000 for a bronze statue in Ely County Park in his honour. Now Teddy has followed in his predecessor's footsteps and begun to visit the same supermarket - and the memorial for Garfy just round the corner.

Hihine Lor, 41, has owned Teddy since he was a kitten and said he was well-known for his roaming. The mother-of-one said: "It's like the baton has been passed on - he enjoys it there. Sometimes people call me and say 'have you lost your cat?' and it turns out he's at the park."

Hihine Lor and her cat Teddy (Hihine Lor/SWNS)

Ms Lor said she had put a tracker on Teddy after he went missing for three weeks a couple of years ago. It was for her own peace of mind and to see where he visits - after she found out he had been being fed by another family. She explained: "I often go and pick him up before his tracker runs out and once I picked him up close to Sainsbury's.

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"I thought I'd take him to the memorial and took a picture of him with the statue - he's gone back there ever since. The Sainsbury's and park is quite a trek from my house, it's about two or three miles. To walk it would take me half an hour. He goes to Sainsbury's car park most days and even into the shop.

"He started going around that area to chase rabbits and he kept moving further and further away until he ended up in and around Ely Country Park."

Teddy the cat wearing his tracker (Hihine Lor/SWNS)

Alongside Teddy's adventuring, which can take him up to eight miles away, he also takes his rest by lying on the Garfield's bench. He is becoming a local cat celebrity, just like Garfield who came before him. Ms Lor has another cat, Rubble, who she says is the complete opposite of Teddy.

The personal assistant added: "Teddy is like a teenager, he will just go out and decide when he wants to come home. He will go out and party all night and sleep all day. He will come downstairs to eat and then go back upstairs.

"He's full of surprises, he's bought me countless animals. I think he goes to the memorial and the park because he likes the attention he gets - and it gives him a place to sit on the bench."

Rom Preston-Ellis