Shortlisted Rescue Cat of the Year Award entrant, Sparky, is hoping that he'll be the cat that gets the cream by scooping the Most Incredible Story category title at the forthcoming Rescue Cat of the Year Award ceremony on March 31, organised by leading UK feline welfare charity, Cats Protection.

Sparky is one of just six cats that have been shortlisted from nearly 100 heartrending entries for the Award's Most Incredible category. Now it's up to celebrity judge, author, Jilly Cooper, to decide who wins! If Sparky does, he'll be purring with pleasure as he'll then be in with a chance of achieving the overall Rescue Cat of the Year title!

Sparky found his way into the life of his owner, Elise Williams, of Login, when she, her husband and her five-year-old son were driving around the local area one afternoon.

"We'd stopped at a remote house in a quiet country lane to ask for directions and my son heard miaowing, but couldn't see a cat," explained Elise. "Searching around, we eventually saw a bedraggled tabby under the roadside cover. We couldn't remove the drain cover, so the owner of the house brought a crowbar and tried to help, but the cat remained trapped."

Eventually, the house owner attached the drain lid to his tractor and managed to pull it free. The Williams' rushed the terrified cat to the local vet's where he was diagnosed with a broken leg and malnutrition.

"I rang every day to check on his progress and, when no one claimed him after a week, he came to live permanently with us. My son named him Sparky."

According to Jen Snape, the award's organiser at Cats Protection, Sparky's story was an inspiring one.

"It wasn't an easy task for us to shortlist just six entries per category, so many of the stories have been unbelievably heartrending," said Jen. "But Sparky's story was amazing, here's a cat that went through quite an ordeal but, thanks to the Williams' care, he now has a good life."

Elise and her son are looking forward to finding out if Sparky has won at the London award ceremony!

"Sparky's a real character, he's certainly livened up our other older pets! My little boy, Teifion, is especially looking forward to finding out if he's son," she said.

Sparky's entry is one of a total of over 700 received from all over the UK for Cats Protection's Rescue Cat of the Year Award 2004, supported by HiLife, one of the leading pet food manufacturers. It seeks to honour those felines whose stories of courage, survival, fate and transformation have inspired the humans who love and care for them.