Chris and Milly Moloney, Berrow, rescue stray kitten from Mongolia

Chris and Milly Moloney, who are currently living in Mongolia where they work at a school, spotted the cat on the streets and feared for its safety.

Chris, a maths teacher from Berrow, and Milly, a year 3 teacher from Frome, found the kitten in November last year.

Scared the kitten wouldn’t make it through the winter, which can reach lows of -40c, they tried their hardest to find it a home through local animal charities.

Mr Moloney said: “We tried to re-home him with a local charity called Lucky Paws but they were unable to have him.

“They do a lot of work rescuing stray dogs, many of which are caught and skinned to make hats, gloves and boots.

“Stray cats are less common, as they are less likely to survive the cold and have more predators.”

The pair, who plan to return to Berrow in July after three years in Mongolia, couldn’t stand to leave him behind, so decided to take matters into their own hands.

They named him Chinggis, the Mongolian spelling of Ghenghis, and decided to bring him back to the UK.

Unfortunately, due to restrictions of importing animals, they have been left out of pocket by more than £3,500 through a process which took around four months.

Mr Moloney added: “If Mongolia was in the EU, or on the UK’s list of approved countries then shipping him back would have cost the price of a flight plus USD140.

“The more we looked into transporting animals from Mongolia to the UK, the more we realised just how complex and expensive it was going to be.

“The whole process took around four months and ended up costing over £3,500.”

They enlisted the help of a Mongolian vets, shipping companies in Chine, Mongolia and England, and a veterinary laboratory in the USA.

Mrs Moloney flew back to the UK at the beginning of April, and the kitten was picked up in Mongolia, then cleared customs at Heathrow.

Mr Moloney added: “He is currently at my parents’ house in Berrow where he will stay until we move back to the UK in July.”