Chris Cope discovers a feline with a big Facebook following
Who is the Facebook feline from Shetland who has become a celebrity? Chris Cope is curious . . .
HE is one of the most photographed subjects in Shetland, and he gets constant attention wherever he goes.
Tommy the cat, though, takes it all in his fourlegged stride.
The free-roaming feline has become something of a local celebrity in the UK’s most northerly archipelago, with his adventures followed by thousands across the globe on social networking website Facebook.
Friendly Tommy often spends his days out and about in Shetland’s capital town Lerwick, visiting shops and hairdressers in and around main hub Commercial Street, as well as other buildings – including the local police station!
He has also been known to tread the boards – he once sauntered on stage at the Garrison Theatre during a ballet rehearsal, much to the surprise of the performers.
His owner, Emma Mackay, admits she is
“very surprised” that the lovable feline, who is around three years old, has attracted thousands of fans on the Adventures Of Tommy Facebook page.
People who bump into the cat when out and about post photos of Tommy to the page, which is seen by people across the globe.
“He is such a character that it’s easy to see why Tommy has become so popular,” Emma says.
“I think because he is very bold, people love to see him wandering around wearing his bandana. It just cheers people up.”
Emma said she first started the Facebook page a couple of years ago to reassure people that the adventurous Tommy did actually have a home and that he was well-loved and cared for.
He just likes wandering and visiting people.
Harry’s department store is another favourite haunt.
Unfortunately, even with his cat’s eyes, Tommy can’t read the sign Please do not sit on the display, so he will curl up on the display bed for a quick catnap.
Emma (and Tommy) moved north to Shetland in 2018, due to her role in the police force.
Clothes retailer M&Co first started reporting seeing the feline on a daily basis, thinking he was lost.
However, Tommy visited many other businesses and shops in the centre of Lerwick, too.
There have been plenty of amusing stories about Tommy and his escapades over the last couple of years.
“The Boots staff always have a difficult time at the end of the day.
“They do a Tommy check before they close up.” Emma smiles.
“He will stand outside with the staff, but as it’s an automatic door, it opens and he goes running back in, with all the staff running back in after him.
“He’s also set off a few intruder alarms recently.
“He stays past closing time, wakes up from where he’s been snoozing and then the alarm will go off and we’d have to go and get him.
“He also nearly managed to get on the Bressay ferry!
“Tommy’s a free spirit and doesn’t like to be kept indoors.
“In fact, he protests if I don’t let him out early enough.
“I have things on a shelf in my room and he would knock them off one by one
until I woke up to let him out.
“Not fun after a nightshift!”
One of Tommy’s most popular haunts is the Thule Bar – although he just sticks to drinking water.
Tommy does have a brother, affectionately known as Wee Kev, but Emma says they are like “chalk and cheese” because Kev is a real homebody.
But late last year there was something of a twist in the tale, as Emma revealed to Tommy’s fans that she was moving away from Shetland to Fort William in early 2020 for work commitments.
People were alarmed at the prospect of not seeing Tommy out on his daily constitutional.
After weeks of painstaking consideration, she made the tough decision to keep Tommy in Shetland, where he could maintain his freedom around the folks and places that he knows and loves so well, so she began the search for a new owner who would care for him.
“It was such a difficult decision, but I believe it is best to leave Tommy here in Lerwick where I know he will always be safe and loved by everyone,” Emma says.
Luckily, a new owner was found, who lived just a 30-second walk away from Emma and Tommy’s house.
And, perhaps, most importantly, they have a cat flap. Now, the freeroaming cat can come and go as he pleases, without having to knock anything off a shelf to be let out!
“Of course, I miss having him around, and so does Wee Kev,” Emma says.
“However, I think Tommy would miss Commercial Street, his shops and all his freedom a little more.”