King cat: Sheikh with new owners Nicolla Birkby and Karl Place
A couple who planned their dream wedding on a paradise beach have CANCELLED their nuptials - after becoming besotted with a stray moggy .
Although the big day was all set to go ahead, Nicolla Birkby and her fiance Karl Place spent more than £2,000 adopting a cat with no home, and have pulled the plug on their planned union.
The cat lovers met and fell for the feline on a trip to Abu Dhabi in April and decided together to dip into their wedding fund to bring Sheikh, as they named him, back home to Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Nicolla Birkby and her fiance Karl Place adopted the miserable moggy when they saw him suffering on their holiday.
Planned nuptials: Nicolla Birkby and Karl Place were due to marry in Jamaica
The couple contacted animal charities in Abu Dhabi to ask them to take the animal in, but when none of them could help the pair decided to adopt the kitten and bring it home with them.
The adoption process took more than three months.
Nicolla said: "We have been planning our wedding since December last year, but we have had to cancel because we have spent so much money bringing Sheikh to the UK.
Past times: Sheikh in Abu Dhabi where he suffered from health problems
"People think we are mad for cancelling our dream wedding to adopt a stray from abroad, but we can get married any time. It's not every day you meet a cat like Sheikh."
Source: www.mirror.co.uk