A curious cat has been gathering a following online as Brecon residents are taken by his mischievous actions.
Black cat Milo, who is less than a year old, is becoming a small feline celebrity in the town as he continues on his mission to befriend everyone in a two-mile-radius.
The young tomcat, who is easily recognisable from his green collar, is often seen visiting various businesses and trying to score “cwtches” from locals.
Luc, Zimmer, who lives at Mount Street with his mum and younger brother, is behind the recent Facebook group which amassed more than 300 followers in three days.
The 20-year-old said: “We got him in June last year when he was about eight weeks old and we got his twin sister at the same time and they were tiny.
“We obviously didn’t let him out straight away as he was tiny little ball of fluff that I could hold in one hand. When we started to let him out, he would just wander around the garden and then it was probably around November time, although it could have been before that as I can’t remember the exact date, he appeared on Facebook for the first time.
“We didn’t think much of it. Mum went to go get him and that was fine. Then he started appearing more and more in further and further places.”
Milo has been spotted at various locations around the town, covering a two to three mile radius from his home - he has also been known to accompany unknown residents in their cars on odd occasions.
The friendly feline has to date been spotted at The Wellington Hotel, Co-Op, The Duchess, Paddy Sweeney’s, The Factory Shop, Dewi’s Secret Garden Brecon Leisure Centre, Brecon High School, Mount Street Junior, the War Memorial Hospital, Savers, JoJo Beauty Studio, Brecon Kebab House, and The Sarah Siddons.
The IT apprentice said they got Milo and his twin sister Gilou - who wears a matching pink collar - at the same time, although Gilou doesn’t adventure as far as Milo.
Luc, who joked that he was upset that Milo had a pint without him in the Sarah Siddons during the week, said: “The Wellington Hotel is a real favourite of his. He goes all the way up to the Leisure Centre, as far down as the Wellington - he goes everyone. Wherever he can smell food I think.
“He doesn’t cause any trouble I think, he just goes in and gets a little cuddle and gets sent on his way.
“She [Gilou] goes out around the same time but we don’t think she goes very far. We think she stays around the house - where as Milo likes to wander, she just likes to potter around the garden.”
The first post about Milo on Facebook was after he visited Mount Street Juniors near his home - since then, his owners often get notifications about where he had adventured to.
Luc explained that now whenever they get a notification ping from Facebook, their instant reaction is to expect a Milo update.
He said: “Whenever Facebook would ping or every tie someone would ring or known on the door, we would just think ‘it’s going to be Milo’ and we still do to be honest.
“Someone rang the doorbell yesterday and I thought ‘I bet it’s Milo’ but it wasn’t for once. It is always the first thought that comes to mind.
“We’ve had people bring him home and we’ve had people message me saying he’s been somewhere.
“People have also been bringing him to the vet and so we’re getting calls from the vet saying ‘oh, we’ve got Milo’. We do want people just to know that he knows where he lives and he knows he can get home, most of the time he just gets himself home.”
When Milo is not adventuring around Brecon, he loves playing at home and catching with his owners - he also enjoys winding up Luc and trying to chase things on the TV or some of his toys.
Luc described the black cat as “just as mischievous “ at home as he is when he’s out around Brecon.
However Milo wasn’t always so friendly, as his owner explained that when he first arrived at their home he had the nickname “Devil Cat” as he would sit and hiss at everyone.
“He was the hissiest, most evil cat you’d ever see. We actually used to nickname him devil cat because when he was very small he’d sit on the side of his scratch post and he’d be proper hissing at my mum and he looked evil but he grew up and matured into a really lovely cat. We couldn’t be happier.
“He just loves to see people, he’s very sociable. I don’t think he cares so much for food, I think he just wants to go around and cuddle everyone. He’s very sweet, very friendly, a bit playful and obviously very mischievous.”
When asked about some of the mischief Milo has got up to in the past, Luc said that when he first visited the Co-Op he kept trying to covertly run inside the store as passengers were entering.
Luc said that while Milo is usually just looking for a cuddle, he often misbehaves in the Co-Op.
“He is a bit naughty in the Co-Op though, he’s been kicked out of there a good few times but he keeps going back,” said Luc.
“When I first went to go pick him up, he apparently was hiding behind the corner waiting for people to walk through the doors and wait for the automatic door to open and he’d sprint through behind them and hide in the cat food aisle and try to eat labels and stuff like that. He causes no harm but he is still a bit mischievous.
“He’s still at that playful age but he never wants to hurt anyone - he can barely hurt a fly. If you pick him up, you can carry him like a baby and he just turns into this big fluff ball and wants to be cuddled.
“He doesn’t hurt anyone or he hasn’t gone for anyone ever apart from me when I try to rescue him, but he’s only playing with me.”
Luc explained that Milo did also go for a dog once, but it was in self-defence rather than aggressive as the dog had lunged at him.
Luc and his family set up Milo’s Facebook page - Milo the Cat of Brecon - on Monday evening, April 11, and it has already been inundated with photos and stories from residents about their encounters with Milo.
His owner explained that the family have loved seeing what Milo gets up to and that it’s a good way to keep tabs on where he is and to make sure he’s safe while he’s out.
Luc said: “I love it, I think it’s hilarious - it’s great. We’ve been saying for a few weeks, we should probably make him a Facebook page because he’s getting al little bit popular. It’s nice to see the people in Brecon being so loving towards our mischievous little boy.
“It’s just lovely to see how happy he seems to be making people. He’s our cat, but at the same time he seems to be Brecon’s cat as well.
“It’s great that he’s doing it and it also means that not only is he going out and getting all these followers, which is brilliant in itself, but he’s also - we’ve got a way to keep tabs on him and keep him safe. The page has already got more than 200 followers - we only set it up on Monday. Most of Brecon knows him and recognises him or at least know of him and know where to post about him so if he did ever need help, we could go to him.
“But it’s mainly just so people can sit down and laugh at him - that’s what we do at home. Every time we see a post it’s ‘for God’s sake, he’s gone there again’ and we just have a good old laugh and say ‘he’ll come home in a bit’”.
Have you seen or met Milo the cat? Share your experiences of Milo with us in the comments.