Meet 'Instagram famous' Leicester cat who has social media account tracking his adventures

A curious Leicester cat who likes to go on long adventures has had his own Instagram account created so his owner can keep tabs on his moves. Nine-year-old Chappie is known by "everybody" in his Clarendon Park neighbourhood, according to his owner, Wendy.

The free spirit, who "likes to do his own thing", has his own spot in the window of a local florist's shop, where he can enjoy the admiration of passers-by, and even used to sleep on the newspapers at a nearby supermarket.

But Chappie's wandering ways have got him into many a scrape. He often gets into cars without people knowing, ending up in different areas of Leicester for days on end, said Wendy, and even got locked inside an unoccupied house for more than a week. On one occasion, he hitched a lift to Braunstone, where he stayed for three weeks - causing Wendy to believe he was dead.

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So to make it easier for Wendy to find Chappie when he disappears, her next door neighbour, Graham, set up an Instagram account dedicated to the moggie's many moves. And while he has a way to go before he catches up with Taylor Swift on the social media platform, he has still gained a respectable 100+ followers.

Wendy called Chappie “a bit of a character”. She told LeicestershireLive she had adopted the now-famous furball when he was three years old. “He used to live on Clarendon Park Road with a woman called Amelia," said Wendy. "She had another cat and Chappie did not like this cat and was sort of roaming the streets.

“He came into my house one day and he looked thin, so I started feeding him. She found out he was coming around to my house, and said she was leaving the area, and that is how I came to have him.”

Wendy said that Chappie “prefers to be by himself” and that he “likes to do his own thing and is very independent.” “Normally he went into the Co-op at Clarendon Park Road and he used to sleep on the newspapers and they used to let him,” she said. "He used to sit outside the Co-op and people would know him. Everybody knows him in the area.

“He goes to the Bloom Project and they leave a space for him to sit in the window amongst the flowers.”

But Chappie manages to get himself into some awkward situations, "especially when he gets into cars and goes around Leicester," Wendy said. "He got in a car outside the launderette on Clarendon Park Road and they drove to Braunstone. He was walking around Braunstone for three weeks. I thought he was dead. He goes ****** everywhere.”

On another occasion he was taken to vets in Oadby after wandering off, and in the past he also tried to get in the back doors of an ambulance. Wendy said: “Because of this happening, Graham said, 'If ever he goes missing we need to get as many people who know him as possible'.”

Last month, Chappie managed to get himself locked in an unoccupied house for more than eight days. Wendy was on a two week cruise when it happened.

She said: “On Saturday, March 16, that’s when we think he got locked in a house. The lady who lived in the house went to hospital and I think was taken to a care home.

“The lady’s nephew was coming around to pick up the mail and he must have followed him in. He was locked in until the following Sunday, for over eight days.”

He was only spotted by sheer luck after students saw him in a window. Wendy said he was very thin and dehydrated when he was found. “It was amazing how the community pulled together looking for him,” Wendy said. “He is so well known and loved by the community.

You can follow Chappie’s adventures on Instagram at chappie.the.clarendon.park.cat.

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