Moved by the news that Budge the Cathedral cat had an accident and fractured his pelvis, a hostel resident set to work sewing a bed for Budge to use while he recuperated.
Budge, whose owners live in Cathedral Close, is a regular caller to the cathedral where he enjoys warming himself on the air vents and basking in the attention of the congregation and visitors who are delighted to find a friendly cat as they explore the building.
The accident caused Budge to be confined to his home for several weeks. During this time, Lorraine, a resident of Bishopbridge House, sewed a comfortable padded bed especially for Budge.
St Martins runs a project on Bishopgate, adjacent to the cathedral, where they accept donations of clothing and household items from the public and distribute them to homeless people in the city. The excess donations of bedding are repurposed as animal beds and the charity hopes that the beds can be sold to raise funds to support more homeless people.
Life Skills Development Co-ordinator for St Martins Nicky King said, “Many of the people we support have pets and one of the activities we offer is to teach people to sew animal beds out of donated fabric.”
Animal lover Lorraine, who volunteers at the donations project, jumped at the chance to make a bed for Budge. Nicky said, “Lorraine did a great job. She used an old duvet cover and folded it over several times so it is hardwearing and also added in a fleecy blanket layer for when it gets colder.”
Still sore from his operation when the bed was handed over, Budge was gently coaxed out of his cardboard box into his soft new bed which is now located in the Verger’s office, one of the cat’s favourite haunts.
Budge’s antics have inspired the creative writing and art groups at St Martins to come up with story ideas and illustrations for a book to be written by the Dean of Norwich Jane Hedges.