Appeal after York cat Mr Bo Jangles goes missing during attack on owner

Mr Bo Jangles managed to tear his way out of his pet backpack following the attack, according to Ms Gamble

An urgent appeal has been launched to help find a cat which went missing after his owner was attacked in York.

Lisa Williams, 57, was assaulted in the early hours of New Year's Day when she attempted to intervene in an altercation outside a pub in the city.

Ms Williams was knocked to the floor and her cat, Mr Bo Jangles, who was in her pet backpack, fled.

Mercedes Gamble, Ms Williams' daughter, said they were very worried as the feline was not used to being out alone.

Ms Gamble said her mother suffered cuts and bruises in the assault, which happened as she tried to calm down an altercation between two girls outside the Punch Bowl pub on the corner of Haxby Road and Lowther Street.

"Mum was trying to defuse the situation when one of them punched her and knocked her to the ground," she said.

"Mr Bo Jangles managed to tear his way out of the backpack and run away."

The cat had "not been seen since", Ms Gamble added.

Mr Bo Jangles is an eight-month-old black Maine Coon, with a white patch on his chest, Ms Gamble said

She said the pub was only a short walk from her mother's home, but Mr Bo Jangles - an eight-month-old Maine Coon - was unlikely to have "got any bearings of the area" as he had not been out on his own before.

Ms Gamble said: "He's a very large cat and would easily be mistaken for an adult, but he's only a kitten."

Posters with contact details had been put up in the Haxby Road area, and anyone with information about the cat's whereabouts was asked to get in touch, she added.

Local animal groups had also been involved in the search for Mr Bo Jangles, she said.

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said a woman was taken to hospital by ambulance with a head injury after being assaulted outside the Punch Bowl pub at about 02:30 GMT on 1 January.

It is believed she hit her head on the pavement after being assaulted, police said.

A spokesperson said: "The victim left hospital and returned to the scene of the assault about an hour later because her male cat had escaped from her backpack when she fell to the ground."

No arrests had been made and inquiries were continuing, they added.