THE plight of Sinbad the cat who survived 17 days without food and water aboard a shipping container travelling from Egypt to Herefordshire touched many hearts last week.

Within six hours of an appeal being launched to pay for his £2,000 quarantine stay, more than half had been raised. The final amount now stands at almost £4,000.

Initially there was a question mark hanging over his fate, due to the cost implications of the four-month quarantine stay.

A member of Herefordshire Council’s Environmental Health team offered to pay the full cost of the quarantine to save Sinbad’s life. But the RSPCA put the money forward and started the appeal.

The story touched the hearts of many, including Father Joseph Parkinson from Belmont Abbey, a selfconfessed cat lover who wanted to donate to his plight.

Laura Quinn, spokesman for the RSPCA, said: “We are delighted that our appeal to help Sinbad has reached out and touched the hearts of so many people across the country.

“Donations have reached almost £4,000 now and we are unbelievably grateful for all of the support we have received so far.

"As a charity we rely on donations from the public to help us with appeals such as this which provide often life saving and important support for the animals that come into our care, just like Sinbad.

"The money donated will go towards Sinbad’s care and also towards helping other cats just like him that are in desperate need of our help.

“Sinbad is doing really well in quarantine at the moment and with all the attention he has received from the public so far we are fully expecting him to find a loving and special new home in the coming months once he is out of quarantine.”

The appeal page is justgiving.com/sinbadthekitten