Paws off! Sunday Post crossword winner fights to claim prize

For 45 years Kathleen Treacy had tried The Sunday Post crossword hoping to scoop the £50 prize without success.

Then she hit on an idea to enter using her pets’ names in the hope of changing her luck. However, when she finally hit the jackpot after her entry was selected as a winner and she was sent the prize cheque, her luck turned into a problem… she could not cash it because the money was made payable to the entrant… her plucky cat Shyloh.

The retired education manager said: “No amount of persuasion would convince my bank that I had won by using my pet’s name. I did get a few wry looks from staff who wondered if I was trying to pick up someone’s else’s money or being wacky for entering Shyloh.

“The idea was to treat him and my dog, Lorcan, to some extra chicken and treats over time but the promise of that was fast disappearing.

“I had to laugh when, after all the years of trying, we finally did win but couldn’t collect the prize!”

Just over 14 years earlier when Shyloh wandered into her garden in Strathmartine, Angus, as a young lost cat he lost no time charming his way into the Treacy household.

“He had survived for a few days on food I was giving our hens and sleeping at night in a stable at the bottom of the garden,” said Kathleen.

“We began feeding him and within days he had snuck into our kitchen warming his paws in the heat given off by our stove.

“It was at the turn of the year when the weather was changing and too cold for a young cat to survive on his own living outside. He fitted in perfectly with our Irish Setters, minding his place but making sure he never missed out on chicken or treats. Our vet told us he knew what he was doing when he chose our house, especially when meals were placed down for him and there was a quiet, warm place to sleep.”

Kathleen says she would often put the pets’ names on tickets for local fairs or raffles for luck and it posed few problems if Shyloh or the others were lucky enough to win a box of chocolates and the like.

Kathleen said: “The organisers would smile when I collected the prize as I am sure they had seen this with others a few times before.”

However, a cat without a bank account posed a dilemma for her local branch after the crossword win.

Most banks do not allow pets to open accounts because they do not have the capacity to understand or manage one, but owners can have bank accounts as savings for vet bills.

Shyloh’s plan for more treats this autumn were restored when The Sunday Post cancelled his winning cheque and reissued it in Kathleen’s name.

She said: “I will remember this when I next buy raffle tickets for my favourite charity, SCIAF.”

Shyloh is not the first cat to bring his owner luck. A couple won £1 million on the National Lottery after giving a home to a stray black cat.

Tony Pearce, 71, and his wife Deb 63, from Southend, Essex, started to feed a stray cat they named Billy, even though they were going through a patch with financial difficulties.

Six months later, their ticket came up trumps with the seven-figure win.

“Many people say black cats are unlucky, but others insist the opposite,” said Deb.

Back in Strathmartine, Shyloh is just happy to spend his old age still basking in the heat of the family stove, a wander around the garden and endless meals of chicken with treats.

Your £50 prize crosswords are in The Sunday Post every week