A NEILSTON cat who made a miraculous recovery after being tortured by a cruel stranger has gone missing.

Distraught owner Pauline Shields is desperate to bring her short-haired tabby Leo home in time for Christmas and is urging anyone with information about his whereabouts to get in touch.

Since he vanished almost 14 weeks ago, there have been no sightings of the four-year-old moggy.

Leo has a distinctive appearance after suffering cigarette burns and being set alight in the January 2019 attack, believed to have taken place in the Glen Avenue area.

The traumatic experience left his life hanging in the balance and his tail so badly damaged that it had to be amputated, along with part of his vertebrae.

Despite his catastrophic injuries, the worst the surgeon at Rouken Glen Vets had ever seen, he amazed everyone with his post-op recovery.

Pauline, 41, told the Barrhead News: “He’s a strong wee cat. He loves climbing trees in the back garden and is even able to swing between them like a wee monkey. He’s so funny.

“I’m frantic with worry. I’ve been putting messages online and putting up posters. I’ve been in contact with all of the rescue places. I’ve been out looking for him and I’ve had neighbours looking for him but no-one has seen him.

“I’m just hoping maybe somebody has been feeding him and they don’t realise he’s got a family and has taken him in but I just need him home.”

Pauline has a house full of rescue animals like Leo but their journey together has forged an extra special bond between the pair.

She added: “Cats Protection gave Leo to me a month after my son left home to take up a teaching position in Japan.

“Leo took my mind off missing my son so much. We have been through an awful lot me and that wee cat.”

If you have information about Leo, call Cats Protection on 0141 638 5110.