A BLIND cat who brings comfort to hospice patients has been awarded a prestigious medal for heroic pets.

Earlier this year the national animal welfare charity Blue Cross launched a nationwide search to find Britain’s most heroic pet and came to the decision that Carrots the cat was head and tails above the rest.

The ginger and white moggy has been awarded the historic 2020 Blue Cross Medal for his valuable role in bringing smiles to the faces of patients and their families at Bradford’s Marie Curie Hospice.

As a therapy cat Carrots visits the Maudsley Street hospice with his owner Katie Lloyd. There, he settles alongside patients and enjoys being petted.

Animal therapy is known for its ability to sooth and comfort, and to bring relief from conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Carrots was brought into a local cat rescue with serious eye injuries and sadly lost his sight, but his blindness has not held him back. He has become a furry friend to patients and staff and, prior to the pandemic, was visiting the hospice twice a week to carry out his therapy duties.

He is the only therapy cat within Marie Curie Hospices throughout the UK, and is the UK's only blind therapy cat.

The idea of the Blue Cross Medal was conceived in 1917 during the First World War and was given to people who helped rescue animals. It was first presented to an animal in 1940 - a dog named ‘La Cloche’, for saving his owner from drowning after a German torpedo hit their ship.

The medal celebrates heroic pets who are changing or saving lives across the UK - with one pet being awarded the winning medal each year.

Of the 143 nominations, the panel of judges was so impressed with the four-year-old tom cat and his work with sick, unwell and dying patients, that they decided to award him this year’s medal - which also marks the 80th anniversary of the award being presented to an animal.

Carrots’ owner, Katie Lloyd, who is the care co-ordinator at Bradford Cat Watch Rescue, said: “I'm so incredibly proud of Carrots for winning the 2020 Blue Cross Medal. I’m really humbled and didn’t expect Carrots to get this kind of recognition.

“When Carrots first arrived I knew immediately that he was a special boy. He has been my companion for many years, helping me get through some of the hardest times of my life.

“He has also been there for everyone at the hospice in their hour of need. He loves visiting patients and settles beside them so that they can stroke him and listen to him purr. He touches the hearts of everyone he meets.

“I’ll never forget one evening when we received a call from the hospice to say there was an older man facing difficult circumstances. He was very distressed and agitated and was requesting a visit from Carrots When he saw me with Carrots on my shoulder at the door, he immediately relaxed. Shortly after Carrots snuggled down on the bed with him, the man fell asleep,”

Unable to visit the hospice for the past few months, Katie has sent letters from Carrots to some of the lovely people they have met.” He signs off all his letters with a paw print of course!”

Julia Mckecknie-Burke, Blue Cross director of fundraising, marketing and communications and one of four judges on this year’s panel, says: “With the Blue Cross Medal we want to celebrate the extraordinary things pets do for us and how they change our lives.

“Carrots is a perfect example of this, and we’re honoured to award him the Blue Cross Medal on its 80th anniversary, placing him alongside a long list extraordinary pets that have transformed or saved human lives.”

Last year’s Blue Cross Medal winner was self-taught assistance dog, Lily-Rose – an eight-year-old Papillon-cross who saved her owner from choking and alerted the owner when her mother collapsed after a heart attack. Other winners have included a 19-year-old cat called Jim in the 1940’s who saved his family from a fire, a Labrador called Daisy who trained to detect cancer, a blood donating Staffordshire bull terrier called Romeo, and a young mastiff called Lemmy, who brought his young owner back from depression.