A Melksham moggie is one of three contenders in a national contest to be named in August as the country’s most heroic cat.

Five year-old tabby cat Pixie, from Melksham, alerted her sleeping owners, Sophie Hellyer and Mike Sawyer, to their then 15-month-old daughter April choking in her sleep during the night.

April’s parents were woken around 1am on November 14 last year by Pixie jumping on their bed and running to April’s room and back. They ran to the toddler’s room and found her choking in her cot.

Pixie is one of three contenders for the ‘Hero Cat’ category at Cats Protection’s National Cat Awards 2017, to be presented by Sky News Sunrise presenter Stephen Dixon, at a ceremony at The Savoy Hotel, London, on Thursday 3 August.

The winners of each of the five categories: Hero Cat, Outstanding Rescue Cat, Furr-ever Friends, Most Caring Cat and Purina Better Together, will be in the running for the overall National Cat of the Year award, also to be announced at the ceremony.

The National Cat Awards, organised by the UK’s largest cat charity, Cat’s Protection, and sponsored by PURINA® is an annual celebration of the real-life stories of heroism, loyalty and companionship in the feline world.

Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and helps around 190,000 cats and kittens each year through its national network of over 250 volunteer-run branches and 34 centres.