Sheffield Wednesday: Hillsborough pitch invasion cat missing for months

Players tried to catch the cat, which brought the game to halt

A cat which stopped a football match with an impromptu pitch invasion had been missing for months and presumed dead, its owner has said.

Topsey had escaped from owner Alison Jubb in June during a trip to a cattery in north Sheffield, Ms Jubb said.

The feline ran on to the pitch during Sheffield Wednesday's game against Wigan Athletic at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.

Topsey was eventually caught and taken to a vet to be examined.

Ms Jubb said she had her fingers crossed Topsey would be OK and she couldn't wait to see her again.

"She went missing last June. We were going away and I was taking her to a cattery and she escaped out of the cat box and we never heard anything again," she told the BBC.

"My daughter-in-law rang me last night as they were watching the match and said there was a cat on the football pitch. I sort of laughed it off."

• More Yorkshire and Lincolnshire stories

Spire Vets then rang Ms Jubb after scanning Topsey's microchip.

"That was the first time I realised it really was her," she added.

Topsey went missing near Worrall, about 2.5 miles (4km) away from Hillsborough Stadium.

The feline was carried away after being rescued and spent the night at a vets

Video of Topsey's last-minute pitch incursion was posted online and quickly went viral, with the game having to be stopped while she was rescued.

A vet at the match took the feline to a veterinary practice to be examined and given painkillers.

Ms Jubb said: "She's got some bites on her neck, it looks like something like a dog may have grabbed her and shook her, so they need to do an x-ray. She's a bit scared."

"Until they've done that, we don't know [if she'll make it]."

Sam from Spire Vets said Topsey had been given "strong pain relief and antibiotics".

"She is stable and staying in a kennel overnight, we gave her some food and she ate it," he said.