Footage of the naughty tortie - whose name is Topsey - went viral after she interrupted the closing stages of Latics' 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

The sight of Kerr lovingly picking her up and taking her off the field before handing her to a member of staff pitchside - even offering a wave as he walked away - was a welcome antidote to the sickening story surrounding West Ham's Kurt Zouma which surfaced hours earlier.

Incredibly, the tail, sorry tale, doesn't end there, with a local woman recognising the now-famous feline - who she'd last seen during a trip to a cattery two and a half miles from Hillsborough, and thought she'd never see again.

Topsey, the naughty tortie who befriended Jason Kerr at Hillsborough

Alison Jubb told BBC Sport: "She went missing last June. We were going away and I was taking her to a cattery and she escaped out of the cat box and we never heard anything again.

"My daughter-in-law rang me last night as they were watching the match and said there was a cat on the football pitch. I sort of laughed it off."

Alison then received a call from Spire Vets after scanning Topsey's microchip.

"That was the first time I realised it really was her," she said.

The Owls tweeted on Wednesday morning: "Last night's pitch invader was taken to the vets and, after an examination, was treated for a head injury and bite to the neck.

"The cat has received pain relief, antibiotics and she is now eating food."

Alison added: "She's got some bites on her neck, it looks like something like a dog may have grabbed her and shook her, so they need to do an X-ray.

"She's a bit scared. Until they've done that, we don't know [if she'll make it]."

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