A cat shelter manager taken to court by a family whose pet was re-homed without their knowledge has agreed to give out the new owner's details.

Susie and Paul Wainman, from Portslade, Sussex, won a court order forcing Michael Tulley, from Fiveways Cat Shelter, to reveal the address of the new owners of their tabby cat, Saffie.

Now Mr and Mrs Wainman are hoping the new keepers will hand over the cat, which was 10 months old when she went missing just before Christmas.

Otherwise, Mrs Wainman said she may be forced to take them to court as well to win back her pet.

She was a very loved pet and we all miss her Paul Wainman

The hunt for Saffie began when the animal disappeared from the Wainmans' home in Garden Close.

With their three children, the couple put up about 40 missing posters in the area but to no avail.

Twelve days after the cat vanished, Mrs Wainman contacted the RSPCA and they put her in touch with Mr Tulley at the shelter in Coldean.

But the family's hopes were dashed when Mr Tulley revealed the cat had been re-homed and he said he was not prepared to give out the new address.

The matter went to Brighton County Court where on Thursday a judge ruled the Wainmans should be told where their cat was.

New legislation

He gave Mr Tulley until Tuesday to reveal the animal's whereabouts.

Mrs Wainman said she feared the fight for Saffie may not be over.

She said: "She is so lovable. I think that perhaps they are not going to be that quick to give her up."

She also called for new legislation to be introduced for cats to have licences so their ownership could be proved.

No collar

Mr Wainman added: "She was a very loved pet and we all miss her. We would appeal to whoever has her to give her back to us now."

But Mr Tulley questioned why it took so long for the Wainmans to contact the RSPCA.

He said: "The cat was only 10 months old but had no collar, had not been neutered and had not been microchipped.

"But Mrs Wainman took 12 days to contact us. We picked Saffie up on 19 December.

"If Mrs Wainman had called the RSPCA soon after we would have said we have your cat."