Sundaymail Editor
DEBORAH Hodge (49) has married her cat to stop heartless landlords forcing her to give her up.
The woman has already re-homed three animals over the years, protecting them against landlords who do not want pets in their properties.
But she is now terrified of being made to part with her precious cat India after losing her job as a life coach last month.
If she cannot afford her next rent payment, she may be evicted and will once again have to go through the trouble of finding a pet-friendly landlord.
This is how the mum-of-two got the idea that if they were married, it would show any future landlord just how important it is for them to stay together.
Decked out in a tuxedo, Deborah tied the knot with India at a civil ceremony presided over by her legally ordained friend.
The five-year-old cat was draped in gold lamé for the big day and meowed her vows in front of Deborah’s family and friends in the south-east London park.
Deborah, an unemployed mum from Sidcup, said: “She is fundamentally the most important thing in my life after my children.
“By marrying India, I need any future landlords to know that we come as a package and we cannot be separated under any circumstances as she is as important to me as the children.
“I refuse to be parted with her. I’d rather live on the streets than be without her.”
While living in a previous property, Deborah was forced to give up her two huskies, Siri and Starshine, when her landlord threatened her with eviction.
After moving to her current home five years ago, her landlord ordered her to give up Jamal the cat or be evicted.
She said: “It absolutely broke my heart. Your pets become part of your family and it was just absolutely devastating having to say goodbye to them.”
Deborah begged to be allowed to have another cat and after countless emails, her landlord finally relented.
India joined Deborah and her two children in 2017 and quickly became a beloved pet.
Pregnant mother to give birth twice to same son
Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle vlogger Jaiden Ashlea learned at 19 weeks that her unborn son had spina bifida.
At first, she and her fiancé were told that there was “no hope” and that their baby would be brain dead.
However, after seeking advice from other doctors, the couple found an Orlando-based medical team that specialises in open foetal surgery, which is operating on babies before they are even ready to be born.
These doctors were able to take out Jaiden’s baby to repair the neural-tube defect in his back, before putting him back inside her womb for another 11 weeks.
Jaiden, from Florida, United States of America, is now recovering in hospital, and, thankfully, says the surgery was a success. She has since opened up to her 15,1K TikTok followers about her extraordinary experience.
In a video that has left people fascinated and firing a thousand questions, the 23-year-old shared footage of herself in a hospital bed, writing, “Birthing my baby for him to be put back in and 11 weeks later be born again”.
In a follow-up clip, Jaiden — who goes by the username @jaiden.ashlea — said: “They basically opened me up by C-section, repaired the defect in his back to the best of their ability, closed me back up and I stayed pregnant for the rest of the time.
“It’s very common for contractions to happen and preterm labour is always the biggest effect or impact of the surgery. But they monitor you very closely, so the next two weeks I’ll be in Orlando in a Ronald McDonald house after already being in hospital for a week.”
Explaining to one curious commenter how her baby was able to survive post-surgery without amniotic fluid, Jaiden revealed that medics had refilled it with saline.
Jaiden’s followers have been left marvelling at the wonders of modern medical science.
Surprise passenger discovered on highway
One man had a shocking encounter, when he looked in his wing mirror to see a snake wrapped around it.
James Bristow was driving along the M5 towards Staffordshire when he noticed the slithering stowaway.
His son Charlie (25) got out his phone to start filming, and captured everything.
A passenger can be heard saying: “Jesus Christ, I don’t think I have ever seen a snake.”
They correctly identify it as a grass snake, and try to find somewhere to pull over where it can get to safety.
But sadly, there was nowhere to stop as it was a smart motorway.
After moving from the front bonnet and onto the wing mirror, the snake then drops onto the road.
Those in the car shout “oh no”, and the video ends without showing whether the snake managed to make it off the carriageway.
Charlie posted the video on TikTok, writing: “Just cruising down the M5 when this happened.
“We tried to pull over but there wasn’t a hard shoulder.’
The video has been viewed over 25 000 times and attracted dozens of comments.
One said: “Poor little grass snake, I hope he’s good.”
Another wrote: “I’m going to pretend there’s a part two and the little guy is okay.”
A third added: “You should have opened the window and let him in. He’s just a harmless grass snake.”
But another said: “I would have crashed.”
Speaking in an interview, Charlie said: “My dad, the driver, spotted it first and shouted “Oh my god there is a f***ing snake there”.
“Me and my cousin Max were like “what?”
“My dad steered into the slow lane and slowed down causing the car behind to beep at us. I then got my camera out and started filming. We were probably going 70mph when it popped its head out.
“We were in the middle lane but quickly moved into the slow lane.
“We really wanted to pull over and save it, but unfortunately it was a smart motorway so we couldn’t pull over. We were parked in a field and it must have crawled up into the engine bay as it liked the warmth.”
Grass snakes are mainly found in lowland areas of Britain, particularly in the south and south east of England.
The harmless snakes are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act making it illegal to knowingly injure or kill them. — Wires.
Online Reporter