Fated feline falls into River Arun

RUPERT Young thought it was finally the end of his beloved cat, Miss Moon, after she fell overboard into the choppy waters of the River Arun.

The moggy was on board the Fortuna IV as the boat manoeuvred into Littlehampton harbour, only to lose her balance and tumble into the river.

All hope was lost after a four-hour-long search was called off.

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Rupert, 42, of Arundel Road, Littlehampton, even penned a eulogy in tribute to the unlucky feline.

So it came as a complete shock to Rupert, a member of the Royal Navy Reserve, when he saw Miss Moon alive and well three days after she was considered lost.

“I was on my way back from the Windmill cinema when I saw what I took to be a small fox stealing fish from a Portuguese fisherman, near the Nelson Hotel.

“I stopped about 70 yards away and the animal just sat down and stared at me. It was surreal.

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“I thought that this couldn’t possibly have been Miss Moon. It’s only when I called her name and she came trotting up to me that I realised it was her.

“It was utterly incredible to see her again. After that I walked her straight home and locked her in.

“We all couldn’t believe it the next morning.”

The escapade earlier this month was by no means Miss Moon’s first brush with death. She had already used up three of her nine feline lives.

“A few years ago, she was caught in the lock mechanism at St Katherine’s Dock, in London.

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“Thames barges had to be delayed until the next tide while rescue workers freed her.

“In 2006, she was diagnosed with an autolytic blood disorder and was given weeks to live. Somehow, she managed to make a full recovery.

“Then later that year, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and again managed to make a full recovery. It’s just miraculous, really,” said Rupert, who works in the communications industry.

Miss Moon grew up as one of a litter of kittens dumped in woods near Hillyard’s shipyard, in Rope Walk, in 1999.

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During her early years it was a battle for survival. It was only in 2005, when she adopted Rupert’s ship as her home, that this day-by-day battle ended.

Miss Moon is now safely back at home and still enjoys taking regular trips on the Fortuna IV.

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