Cat lost for a month found in airport kitchen roof

The two-year-old cat is recovering at home, and has been fitted with a tracker

A cat who went missing for more than a month was found in the roof of a kitchen area at Exeter Airport.

Ted, a black and white cat, was discovered in the roof of the airport's base for private planes and VIP passengers on Friday, after staff heard meowing above the kitchen.

After catching sight of the cat, staff at the airport's XLR Jet Centre gently coaxed him towards a gap in the ceiling.

They then carried the two-year-old cat down and gave him some food and water - before tracking down his owners.

Ted the cat was missing from his home in Cranbrook for about a month

Ted's family said they had given up hope of ever seeing him again after he went missing from his home in Cranbrook, four miles (6.4km) away from the airport on 18 August.

They said the feline had climbed under the bonnet of a neighbour's car to escape the rain and the car had driven off.

"It was amazing when I got the call to say Ted had been found," said owner Charlotte Fleming.

"I genuinely thought that was it - we'd lost him."

Ted was "skinny" and "on his last reserves" when he was found, according to owner Charlotte Fleming

Airport worker Alex Stephenson said he and his colleagues were chatting in the kitchen area at the centre when they heard a meowing sound.

After coaxing the cat out of the ceiling and calming him down, Mr Stephenson and his colleagues then set about trying to track down Ted's owners.

He found a Facebook post by Cats Protection's Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre, which highlighted an appeal from Ted's family.

"The owners were so pleased," he said.

"It's nice that we were able to help."

'So skinny'

Mrs Fleming and her husband Rich said they had known Ted was last spotted at the airport because they had bumped into a witness when they were handing out leaflets in the area a couple of days after Ted went missing.

Mrs Fleming said she was grateful to all the people involved in Ted's rescue.

She said they took the cat to the vets - who said he was lucky to have been found when he was.

"He was so skinny and was on his last reserves," Mrs Fleming said.

Ted has now been fitted with a tracker.