A COUPLE are so desperate to find their lost cat they are turning to a medium to help.

David and Elaine Carter want to find their tabby cat Meisha, who went missing while they were on holiday, but their search for the much-loved pet has drawn a blank, so they hope a spiritualist can help them. The psychic will communicate with dead people in the hope they might know where the cat might be.

Mr Carter, 58, said: "Meisha is very much part of our family. She is about four years old and we have had her since she was a kitten. We found Meisha after our first cat, Tabatha, died. My wife was in a pet shop in County Durham and Meisha immediately seemed to know her.

"It sounds odd, but she is like a replica of Tabatha.

"We have tried everything to find her. And now we have even decided to give a picture of Meisha to a friend who goes to a spiritualist church in the hope that someone there will be able to help."

Mr and Mrs Carter, 48, had delivered leaflets to hundreds of homes in Albany, Washington, Wearside, in the hope someone might have seen her.

Meisha was staying with Mrs Carter's father, Bill Rutter, in Washington, while they enjoyed a holiday in California, when she went missing on September 27. The couple are also offering a £200 reward to anyone who finds her.

Mr Carter, a graphic designer from Coxhoe, County Durham, said: "A lot of people know we are looking for her around Albany, but we now have to widen our search because, so far, there has not been any news."