Oxshott: Family travels 500 miles to adopt unwanted black cat

A family made a 500-mile round trip from Surrey to North Yorkshire to rehome an unwanted black cat.

Eddie waited eight months at an RSPCA rehoming centre in Great Ayton before he was adopted, making him the longest-staying resident.

Debbie Hughes and her family travelled from Oxshott to collect the cat after an appeal from the home in May.

Black cats take longer to rehome, often because of superstition, some animal charities say.

An RSPCA officer rescued Eddie from a shed last September and when he arrived at the rehoming centre the two-year-old cat had a serious infection in both ears.

Mrs Hughes, who travelled to North Yorkshire with her husband Steve and their teenage daughter Lydia, said: "I really wanted to give him a happy life and a nice home.

"We thought we met the criteria, so we put in an application and it all went from there. We didn't really think about the distance we'd have to travel to adopt him, we just knew we wanted him!"

Mrs Hughes said Eddie was a "very affectionate cat who loves to play and be close to people".

The RSPCA said black cats often take far longer to rehome than their colourful counterparts.

Superstition and the lack of a "cute factor" with black cats has been blamed for them being overlooked.

Beverley Dunn, cattery supervisor at the Great Ayton centre, said: "We were overwhelmed by the interest we had in him after we put out the appeal, and it just goes to show that the right home is always out there - even if it's not always on your doorstep!"

Eddies success story has generated huge publicity for the Great Ayton centre, leading to a number of other black cats also being rehomed.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].