MIRACLE cats are certainly rife in the Lingham household -one has cheated death and another weighs a massive two stones.
Fat cat Tommy Tiger, dubbed Mr Blobby by owner Susan Lingham, is just 4lbs lighter than the world record holder and eats anything he can lay his paws on.
But Shaney, himself a hefty one-and-a-half stone, is grabbing an equal share of the limelight having been cured by a spiritualist.
Ron Lingham explained: "Six years ago we took him to the PDSA after he had two very bad nosebleeds. His fur was thin and straggly and he was wobbly on his feet.
"They did an X-ray, suspecting a split bone in his nose and found a huge tumour.
"The vet gave him just a few months to live so we took him to the spiritualist church on Albert Road where they put healing hands on him.
"My wife then got hold of some Lourdes water and bathed his nose with it - six years on he's like a different cat.
"His fur has grown back, he walks straight and he's constantly purring.
"The vet said he couldn't understand his recovery."
This recovery has meant Shaney can now hold his own against Tommy Tiger who belonged to Susan's late mother. "She only saw him as a kitten," says Ron, "but he's grown a bit since then."
There's no need for neighbours to have nightmares about this giant cat roaming the streets, though. According to Susan, he loves his home comforts too much to stray far from the house.
She added: "He is soft and just like a big kitten - a kitten the size of a West Highland terrier."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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