A CHEEKY cat who made himself comfortable in a stranger’s home and ended up getting stuck in the ceiling has been reunited with his owner.

Stelio was recognised after the tale of his rescue by firefighters was highlighted in the Advertiser.

Relieved owner Laina Stephens had just about steeled herself to accept that something awful had happened to the cat she had hand reared from a tiny kitten.

But yesterday she was over the moon when an RSPCA inspector brought him home to her.

“It was fantastic,” she said.

“When I was walking the dog in the morning and evenings I was calling him. When I went to my mum’s I was calling him.

"I was starting to fear the worst if I’m honest.”

Stelio, who is named after a character on American Dad, is never far away at mealtimes.

But he failed to come in for his meal on Saturday.

“The last time he disappeared overnight was when he was going to be taken to the vets to be neutered,” she said.

Unbeknown to her he had wandered several streets away from her home in The Rosary, Royal Wootton Bassett, and sneaked into a house in the high street where he made himself comfortable until he was startled by the owner.

He then scuttled into a space under the walk-in shower and found himself firmly wedged in the space between the bathroom floor and the kitchen ceiling.

At first it was thought he would reappear when he had calmed down, but on Sunday morning he was still there.

An RSPCA inspector was called to see if he could be coaxed from his hiding place, but it became clear more help was needed. So firefighters were called in to cut a hole in the ceiling to bring him out.

Stelio was then taken to the vet for a check over and was still there when Laina was alerted to the Advertiser’s story on Tuesday.

When he was brought home he was quick to show his relief.

“As soon as she let him out of the cage he climbed up my leg to give me a cuddle,” said Laina, who has six cats.

The four-year-old moggy is very close to her and often accompanies her when she walks the dog or goes to her mother’s house nearby.

“I hand-reared him from three weeks so he is very, very special to me,” she said. “I’m just so grateful for what everybody did.”