A CULT of celebrity has hit a Tesco store in the form of an attention seeking tabby cat – who is so famous she was once kidnapped.
Eleven-year-old Fudge became a hit in her hometown of Dumfries after making daily visits to the local Tesco Extra store.
She is that well known that families travel to the store just to meet and take photographs of her to share on Fudge’s own Facebook page.
The beloved moggy was even kidnapped last year as she lay sleeping outside the store.
And the supermarket have started treating her like an employee by including her in their fire drills.
Her owner, Lynn Duncan, 36 said: “She’s a daily visitor at Tesco. She was never really a cat that went far from the house but she started following me there and now that’s her spot.
“I tried to discourage her but she kept going back. She just loves the attention she gets from everyone. She’s a total lap cat and loves all the cuddles.
“The staff there just love her. They always watch out for her and if anything is wrong or people are annoying her they get in touch with me straight away.
“About a month ago the store had a fire drill so one of the guys made sure to pick her up and take her too as they evacuated the store.
“Its nice people give her so much attention so I don’t mind sharing and little kids love her. To me she’s just my little cat.”
Last year Lynn set up a Facebook page called ‘Fudge the Tesco Cat’ after the pampered puss was taken one evening from her spot at the branch.
“She was stolen from Tesco by a man one evening in the car park and was spotted by a few people,” said the full time hospitality student.
“He picked her up and someone actually said to him, ‘You know that cat has a home?’
“He was told again but he just said he was going to look after her.
“A woman found her in their back garden. Her house was just round the back of where the man lived.
“I heard he was banned from the store. Not for stealing Fudge though!”
Fudge’s Facebook page now has over a thousand members who continuously post photographs of her and keep up to date with how she is doing.
Adorable pictures show the cat “hiding” among daffodil plants in the store’s foyer and basking in the sun in the car park.
Kind hearted locals have been putting food down for Fudge including sausages and packs of meat, which she is happy to wolf down before going home to eat her own food.
Lynn said: “She gets fed at home so I try and let everyone know not to feed her.
“People are good as they pick up any food that people put down for her.
“I also had a collar on her that said not to feed her. But two of them mysteriously went missing within a week of putting it on her.”
And the much-loved moggy has recently found herself in a couple of scraps with local cats who have stepped foot in her turf.
“I have heard that there’s another cat on the scene but Fudge isn’t keen on it, she’s not amused, “said Lynn. “She’s territorial so will be thinking, ‘Oi this is my spot’.
“She is normally found in the foyer and chills out with whatever’s there. Just now it’s the flowers.
“When it’s a nice day she likes to lounge about in the sun and lie out in the car park. Staff have even had to go and lift her as she will lie there basking in the sun and not budge.”
A customer service assistant at Tesco Dumfries said: “Fudge comes by every day as he lives just up the street.
“She’s become a bit of a regular and is pretty famous around here – all the locals know and love him.”
