A mystery moggy has migrated all the way from sunny Spain to the soggy streets of Southampton.

At first the tom seemed like any other stray taken in by Barbara’s Cats Rescue in Shirley.

But it came as a huge shock when the kitten’s microchip revealed that he was more than 800 miles from his home in Spain.

Having been rescuing cats for more than 25 years, this is the first time that Barbara Dollery has welcomed an international resident into her Westfield Road home.

Now she has made it her mission to reunite the young Spanish stray she has dubbed Jose Mourinho (although he is Portugese) with his family, who she believes may have recently moved to the city with their pet.

The eight-month-old black cat, which has not been neutered, came to Barbara after a woman found him roaming the streets of Winchester more than a week ago.

She immediately went to get his microchip read, which revealed that he was registered to a family in Spain.

However, there was no forwarding address or contact number for his owners.

Barbara, 80, who runs the cat rescue from her home, said: “His family would have had to spend a lot of money to get him into the country so I really hope we can reunite them with their lovely little cat.”

n If you have any information about the cat’s owners, call Barbara on 023 8039 7059.