A BLACK cat that has survived against the odds has been shortlisted in the Ultimate Survivor section of the Rescue Cat of the Year Awards.

Four-year-old Tottie has been nominated by his owner, veterinary nurse Lisa Holmes, after he went missing for six weeks and survived being shot, run over and attacked by a lurcher dog.

Lisa took Tottie home when he was left in a bucket on the doorstep of her workplace at about three weeks old.

He had been found in a layby in a very bad condition and only just survived his first night.

Tottie now shares Lisa's home in Richmond, North Yorkshire, with the Pyrenean mountain dogs she breeds.

She said: "I have never known a cat like him. He has certainly caused me lots of anguish, but pulls through every time against the odds.

"Tottie is a character like no other. I knew as soon as I clapped eyes on him that he was coming home with me.

"The stories I could tell about him, his accidents and the way he plays with the dogs, he really is an incredible fighter."

The Rescue Cat of the Year Awards are run by the Cats Protection charity and have six categories, which include Most Incredible Story and Best Turnaround.

The category winners, as well as the overall Rescue Cat of the Year, will be announced at the Savoy Hotel, in London, at the end of March.