Romeo was thought to be living as a stray when he was involved in a car accident, which left him with a badly broken back left leg.

PDSA vets performed surgery on Romeo, who is less than a year old, before handing him over to Cats Protection’s Tyneside Adoption Centre, where he was cared for and monitored to see if his leg was healing.

Unfortunately, following further x-rays it was found that the injury was not healing properly and the decision was made to amputate the leg in order to give him the best quality of life.

Centre Manager Emzi Frater said: “He's such a loving boy - even when he was sore and uncomfortable he liked nothing better than to sit on a knee and put his paw in your hand. We know he's going to make a family who have space in their home for a special boy very happy.”

Ideally, Romeo would go to a home without other pets where he can live as an indoor cat or somewhere with a fully-enclosed garden.

“Because he is still getting used to life on three legs, and while he builds up muscle strength, he is unable to jump or move as quickly as he once could, and it wouldn’t be fair to introduce him to a busy home with many other pet interactions,” added Emzi.

The Tyneside Adoption Centre is part of Cats Protection’s national network of around 250 volunteer-run branches and 36 centres that help around 200,000 cats and kittens each year.

The centre usually has over 40 cats in its care awaiting rehoming, ranging from kittens to more elderly cats who are looking for a fresh start in life with a loving family.

Anyone interested in adopting Romeo, or any of the cats in care at the Tyneside Adoption Centre, can ring 0191 653 1052, visit the centre any day between 11am-3pm (except Tuesdays when it is closed), or go to www.cats.org.uk/tyneside to view the cats that are available.

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For media enquiries please contact media.office@cats.org.uk or call 01825 741912.