A strange coincidence – and how a cat can bring people together.

When hairdresser Lucy Preston started chatting to the owner of the shop next door in Frome, Somerset, she didn’t realise that they had something very unusual in common.

Lucy had been talking to Truly Sopel, the owner of the fashion shop of the same name, on her lunch breaks from Ramshack Barbers, but it wasn’t until she looked at Truly’s Instagram account that she noticed someone familiar – a handsome ginger-and-white cat called Bono.

ginger and white longhaired cat in Moses basket

Lucy spotted Bono on Truly's Instagram page

Truly had posted lots of photos of her 15-year-old moggy, and Lucy recognised him as the same cat that used to belong to her partner Ryan Greenwood and mother-in-law Nicola Greenwood.

Nicola had cared for Bono since he was a kitten but nine years later had to give him up to Cats Protection’s Midsomer Norton & Radstock Branch because a change in her living circumstances meant she could no longer look after him.

two women with longhaired white and ginger cat

Truly & Bono (left) with Lucy

He was then adopted by Truly, who he has been living with for the past six years. “He looked magnificent on the Cats Protection website,” said Truly. “Seeing him in all his fluffy glory, I simply had to adopt him. I kept his original name as he purrs when you call him.”

longhaired ginger and white cat sitting in cat pen

Bono's photo on the Cats Protection website

ginger and white longhaired cat in cat pen Lucy said: "We all miss Bono so much, I couldn't believe it when I saw his fluffy face on Truly's Instagram page. When I told my mother-in-law, she cried with joy.”

Truly added: "I've always wondered about his past and now I can find out. I'm hoping Mrs Greenwood will bring over some Bono kitten photos when she pops over for a cat cuddle and cup of tea soon.”

ginger and white longhaired cat on yellow chair