An aggressive ginger Tom, branded an “Asbo cat” by terrified villagers, brought his bad-boy lifestyle to Northampton after going missing, it has been revealed.
Ginger cat, Oscar, went missing last month, much to the relief of residents in Wingrave, Buckinghamshire.
Bully-boy Oscar, who shot to fame two years’ ago when he starred in a television advert, is said to have terrorised the area, attacking dogs and residents.
One victim, retired lieutenant colonel Tom Ridgway, aged 77, spent six days in hospital after Oscar mauled his right arm and sank his teeth into his left thumb all the way to the bone.
But to the regret of Mr Ridgway and his neighbours, Oscar, who vanished on October 17, is now back home – safe and sound.
He turned up at an empty house in Northampton - 25 miles away from his home - where he was found muscling in on food put out for the owners’ pets by a cat sitter.
His behaviour was so bad the cat sitter has refused to help out ever again. Determined to get rid of him, the homeowner had Oscar scanned by a vet, who found the details on his microchip.
He arrived back in Wingrave on Saturday – where villagers are now believed to be arming themselves with water pistols.
One, who asked not to be named, admitted many had hoped the only way Oscar would ever return would be ‘in a body bag’.
They said: “Children can’t walk down the alley to the school”, while another added: “They all know about the cat and they are all frightened it’s going to get them.”
Mr Ridgway, who described Oscar as “ferocious”, added: “He can be very aggressive and will even attack dogs and people around the village.”
However, Oscar’s owner Caroline Hughes, aged 36, was pleased at the return of her cat, dubbed as the “Lion Cat of Wingrave”. She has had him since he was a kitten.
She said: “When I got the call I asked: ‘Is he okay and alive?’ The vet said: ‘He’s very much alive and causing problems.’
“I said: ‘That’s Oscar – he’s okay.’ I am super-happy to have him back. I never ever gave up but I was definitely starting to lose faith. Life just wasn’t the same without him.
“Because of his bad boy antics I hoped, if he was still okay, he would stay true to form and make himself known at a house where cats already lived and where somebody would know what to do rather than get angry with him.
“It seems ironic now that it was his notorious bad behaviour that brought him back to me.”
But Miss Hughes, a telecoms worker, defended her pet, who sprung to fame in 2010 after he appeared in an Ikea. She insists he has never attacked children or dogs.
Ms Hughes is now looking into herbal therapy to treat Oscar’s aggression and is planning to move to a house with a large and secure garden for him to roam
In the meantime, she has put him under house arrest.
She added: “The fact that people are saying they want Oscar dead is awful. I can’t believe anyone would say that.
“Oscar has a lot of character.
“He is a lively cat but the accusations some people are making about him are just not true. He has never attacked children or dogs.
“‘Oscar did attack one of my neighbours once but my neighbour had scared him when he tried to pick him up.
“He even appeared in a Ikea TV commercial - so if he was that vicious how on earth would they have filmed him in that.
“He is a great cat - it has all got too much and I think I am going to have to move home.”
Ms Hughes has two other cats, who are both Oscar’s brothers.
 |  |