THEY are more famous for having nine lives than for saving them, but Fidge the cat has done just that.

Her owner, Wendy Humphreys, discovered she had breast cancer after the black and white kitten kept sitting on her right breast.

The mother-of-two, who lives in Wroughton, visited her GP after her breast became painful and was told at the appointment that she had a lump.

“I just couldn’t believe it because I didn’t think cats were capable of that, I thought it was only dogs. Dogs can diagnose epilepsy and can tell when someone’s going to have a fit,” said the 52-year-old.

“She saved my life, definitely. No hesitation at all. I was told that if I hadn’t been diagnosed when I was I could have died because of the hormones in the menopause.

“I am the first one in my family to have breast cancer. I am so glad I got her.”

Wendy and her husband, David, who have been married for 32 years, got Fidge last May when she was just eight weeks old.

A few weeks later the cat started the strange behaviour.

“She kept coming and sitting on my right breast when I was lying on the settee. She would jump onto it every night for a fortnight. I went to see my GP because I thought it was bruised. It just hurt and I didn’t think anything else could be wrong,” said Wendy.

Wendy’s doctor found a pea-sized lump in her breast and she was diagnosed with cancer in September.

She has two more sessions of chemotherapy left and is having a mastectomy at the end of March.

“The chemo is hard and I’m dreading having my breast removed. But I am going to beat it, definitely,” she said. “I have to because my daughter has got learning difficulties and I have got to be there for her.

“We have had four cats before and this is the first one that’s done anything like this. She goes around on your shoulder and on your back and none of the other cats have done that.

“She never leaves me alone. Every morning she jumps up and makes sure I’m all right.

“David knows she has saved my life too. We have given her plenty of food and toys and everything.

“Giving them love and loyalty is enough. Not all animals have that.”