A cat-lover who has filled her home with celebrity-named felines has praised her “extraordinary” moggy Ricky Gervais after he repeatedly saved her mother’s life. Mary Nesbitt-Larking, 30, from Hertford, Hertfordshire, lives with her mum Carrie Nesbitt-Larking, 56, and their six cats – Ricky Gervais, 11, Nana Osaki, 10, Kristen Stewart, 10, Julia Roberts, nine, Linda Hamilton, two and Bree Van de Kamp, two.
Carrie suffers from multiple health conditions including COPD, osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea and chronic fatigue syndrome, and lived in fear she would stop breathing in her sleep – until the heroic Ricky, named after the comedian and actor, appeared in their home as a stray in 2012.
Ricky was adopted by the mother and daughter after “wandering” in via their cat-flap, at the same time as their fellow pet Karl Pilkington, and according to Carrie, he started to wake her when she stopped breathing as soon as he arrived – meowing to alert them to the danger. The mother-daughter duo are now celebrating Ricky’s achievements, after the marvellous moggy was recognised as a finalist in the PetPlan Rescue Pet Awards in August 2022 for the medical help he has given to Carrie.
