Clowne moggy selected to star as Mr October in national charity's 2023 calendar

At just a few days old, Squid ended up at Cats Protection’s Mansfield Adoption Centre – a tiny black kitten all on his own.

Because he was so small and needed around-the-clock care, the team, including cat care assistant Alex Hartley, from Clowne, took it in turns to hand rear him in their homes, feeding him through the night and making sure that all his kitten needs were met.

Alex said: “We didn’t know straight away we’d be adopting Squid, but once we’d had him for a few nights, we knew we couldn’t be without him.

“My girlfriend Megan came up with his name. We were sat thinking of black cat names and she thought of Squid because of squid ink.

“I’m actually a little afraid of squids, but it fitted him with it being a bit different and now I have a squid tattooed on my leg in honour of him.”

Squid is now just more than a year old and firmly settled into his home in Clowne, and his story so touched the creators of next year’s Cats Protection calendar they gave him a spot as Mr October.

Alex said: “We were thrilled when we found our he would be part of the calendar, he’s our own little celebrity.”

The Cats Protection Cat Calendar is available online – see catsprotectionshop.co.uk – for UK delivery and from the charity’s chain of shops.

Every calendar sold helps the charity to raise much-needed funds for cats and kittens in need of new homes.

Tom Ryan, interim head of retail and trading at Cats Protection, said: “The arrival of our 2023 calendars and diaries complements the amazing goods, donated and new, we have in our shops.

“We help an average of 166,000 cats and kittens annually and we love to see the photos and stories of just some of them.

“Every calendar, diary, box of Christmas cards or hidden treasure bought this season will help cats in need.”