A friendly feline has been unveiled as the new ‘free cat’ of Ramsey.

The status has been bestowed on Thomas the Town Cat by commissioners.

It is the first time since 2010 that the honourary title has been bestowed.

Thomas, now six years old - roughly equivalent to 40 in human years - is a familiar face in the Ramsey community and regularly frequents shops, pubs, and streets across the northern town.

His presence has not only endeared him to residents but also helped to boost footfall and draw visitors.

Thomas’s journey to local celebrity status began a few years ago when he was discovered in shipping containers near The Farmers Combine during renovations.

Mark Corrin, from The Farmers Combine, said: ‘Thomas arrived at the farmers combine probably around about four to five years ago as wild cat.

‘We were doing some renovations and had some containers next to the property.

‘We found him in the containers one morning and that’s sort of the start of his life at The Farmers Combine and he stayed with us for quite a number of years.

‘But unfortunately one of the members of staff who he was particularly fond of passed away and he then decided he would use us and say a temporary home and go off.’

A cat about town

Two years ago, Thomas purred his way into the life of Suzanne Young, who runs Suzanne Young Pilates.

She said: ‘It was one dark October night and we were coming home from a night out and we found Thomas in the street.

‘My friend knew that he’d been locked out. So, he said “oh, let’s bring him in, he’s obviously been locked out”, and I said “you can’t just take somebody’s cat”!

‘He came in for the night, we fed him, and I messaged The Farmers Combine to let them know we had the cat and we had fed him.

‘Then he [Thomas] just kept staying at our house and he’s been there for about two years now.

‘He gets fed at ours and we make sure he’s in every night, but sometimes in the summer he chooses to stay out all night.

‘He’s allowed to come and go as he pleases. There have even been a few nights where he’s got locked in shops!’

Over the years, his renown grew amongst local residents.

His reputation as a cat about town led to a Facebook group being set up in his name.

To date, it has more than 1,000 members.

‘Now that he’s got his Facebook group, if he doesn’t come home at night, I can put a quick appeal out on his Facebook group and say, “has anybody seen him?”’ said Suzanne.

;So we keep tabs on him that way.

‘But other than that, he’s totally free to go wherever he wants. He could relocate if he chooses. He’s quite happy in the centre of town just to free to roam around all the shops.’

No cost

Thomas was given ‘free cat’ status during a special ceremony in Ramsey recently.

A spokesperson for Ramsey Commissioners said that the ‘freedom’ ceremony was staged at no cost to ratepayers.

Chair of Ramsey Commissioners Rob Cowell says tha bestowing the special status on Thomas will support charitable work organised by businesses in the town.