A furry feline who has made St Albans station his home for the past year has been reunited with his owner three years after he went missing.
Brian the ‘station cat’ made a name for himself among the staff and commuters at St Albans City station after beginning to make daily visits last summer, with many assuming he lived in a nearby flat.
As the visits became more regular the staff began to leave food and water out and let him sleep in the heated store room over the winter months.
Commuter Nicolette Brown said: “He adopted the position of chief mouser in the storeroom and chief watcher of trains on platform one where his adoring fans of many staff and commuters enjoyed giving him a stroke.”
But Nicolette soon became concerned about the cat’s health. She continued: “By Christmas it became obvious to me that he didn’t live in nearby flats and that he ought to have his weight checked by a vet for de-worming and de-flea medication dosage, so I took him to Heath Lodge vet.”
The vet discovered a microchip, called the number found and spoke to a lady who revealed that Brian, actually named Obama, had escaped while she was visiting a relative three years ago.
The lady, who lives in London, was visiting someone in St Albans with the cat when Obama went missing.
Nicolette added: “The woman has since called me to thank all of us for looking after Brian (actually called Obama) and to assure us that he is settling in well.”
St Albans station leader, Tasha Hodges, said: “A lot of us fed Brian, we would go out and get cat food and biscuits for him weekly and with kind donations from our passengers as well he never went hungry.
“Brian/ Obama would follow myself around the station especially when we did nights. He never went on the track or felt the need to board a train. He was never scared of passing trains, but some people he didn’t take to. Our 2 security guards we have on Friday and Saturday night loved him as well.
“The station is not the same now without him, we all hope that Brian/Obama is settling in nicely back at his home.”
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