Missing cat found after five weeks in Exeter Airport roof

Alex Stephenson reunited Ted with his owner Rich Fleming Credit: Exeter Airport

A cat that was missing for more than a month has been found hiding in the roof at Exeter Airport.

Ted went missing from his Cranbrook home on 18 August. The two-year-old feline had apparently climbed under the bonnet of a neighbour’s car to escape the rain.

The car had then driven off and Ted was later seen jumping out at the roundabout near the airport.

Fast-forward to 22 September - staff at the VIP jet centre in the airport heard a faint meowing above the kitchen. 

Alex Stephenson, the executive coordinator at the centre, said: “We all stopped to listen but then nothing happened. 

Ted has now been fitted with a tracker Credit: Charlotte and Rich Fleming

“We were about to walk out of the room when we heard another meow. We couldn’t work out where it was coming from. I started calling for the cat and the meows got stronger until we realised it was coming from the roof.” 

Alex worked with colleagues Chris Beer, Luke Wells and Alan Freeman to coax Ted to a gap in the ceiling.  

Alex said: “We popped open the hatch in the ceiling and Alan managed to coax the cat out. We had to calm him down a bit because he was very stressed and looked quite thin but he was soon happily eating and drinking.”

The VIP jet centre has seen the likes of Steven Spielberg, Rod Stewart, and Johnny Depp - and now Ted!

The team got Ted down and gave him some much-needed food and water before tracking down his owners using social media.

Owner Charlotte Fleming said: “It was amazing when I got the call to say Ted had been found. I genuinely thought that was it – we’d lost him.

Ted is now back home with his family. Credit: Charlotte and Rich Fleming

“We are ever so grateful to all of the lovely people who helped to rescue him.

“We took Ted to the vets to check him over and they said he was lucky to have been found when he was. He was so skinny and was on his last reserves.”

The lucky pet is now back with his family. They said he's recovering well and getting his weight back to where it should be. 

However, Ted has been grounded and fitted with a tracker to make sure he doesn’t disappear again. 

Alex Stephenson said: “We’re just pleased that the tale (or tail) had a happy ending. He’s been through quite an ordeal. I don’t know how he got up there because it’s quite high. He somehow managed to climb up onto the roof and then probably went to shelter in the roof cavity when the weather turned and we had all that heavy rain.”