A cat who went missing from his home more than a month ago has been found safe and well in the VIP jet centre at Exeter Airport.

This 'cool cat' chose to relax in Exeter Airport's VIP lounge. Ted was discovered last week after staff heard a faint meowing sound above the kitchen area.

After catching sight of the frightened black-and-white cat, Alex Stephenson, executive coordinator at the jet centre, along with colleagues Chris Beer, Luke Wells and Alan Freeman gently coaxed him towards a gap in the ceiling.

They then carefully carried two-year-old Ted down from his lofty perch and gave him some much-needed food and water before tracking down his owners.

Ted’s worried family had given up hope of ever seeing him again after he went missing from his Cranbrook home four miles away on August 18.

The fearless feline had apparently climbed under the bonnet of a neighbour’s car to escape the rain, the car had driven off and Ted was later seen jumping out at the roundabout near the airport.

“It was amazing when I got the call to say Ted had been found,” said owner Charlotte Fleming. “I genuinely thought that was it – we’d lost him.”

Charlotte and husband Rich knew he was last spotted at the airport because, incredibly, they bumped into a witness when they were handing out leaflets in the area a couple of days after Ted went missing.

“This chap was two cars back and saw a black and white cat shoot up the verge after jumping out from my neighbour’s car,” said Charlotte, adding she sobbed with relief when she got the call from the airport to say Ted had been found in the jet centre’s roof space.

“We are ever so grateful to all of the lovely people who helped to rescue him,” said Charlotte. “We took Ted to the vets to check him over and they said he was lucky to have been found when he was. He was so skinny and was on his last reserves.”

The lucky pet is now back with his family, including children Hugo, eight and Penny, five. He is recovering well and eating his owners out of house and home having lost around half his normal weight during his adventure.

Ted, who is also adjusting to life with the family’s new pet kitten, has been permanently ‘grounded’ for now and fitted with a tracker to make sure he doesn’t get any ideas about wandering off, especially now he has a taste for the high life.