Coronavirus: Leeds woman put message in window to ask cat's name Published duration 30 March Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic

image copyright PA Media/Sian Cosgrove image caption Sian Cosgrove shared pictures of the messages along with a photograph of Walter

A woman had a conversation with her neighbours about their cat by placing signs in their windows to stick to coronavirus restrictions.

Sian Cosgrove, 24, said she had long admired the black and white moggie who lived in the house opposite but had never spoken to her neighbours.

She had been seeing more of him since the government told people to stay at home to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Ms Cosgrove said she decided to put a sign in her window asking his name.

Her neighbours soon responded with a sign of their own saying he was called Walter.

Ms Cosgrove said: "Me and my partner had been calling him Eric because we didn't know his name, but he was always sat in the window looking majestic.

"It was annoying me that we didn't know his name but we see him every day - all day every day now we're in lockdown - so I asked.

"I didn't expect to get a response but they were really good sports about it."

image copyright PA Media/Sian Cosgrove image caption Before putting a sign in her window, Ms Cosgrove had gone a year without talking to her neighbours

Ms Cosgrove put up another sign saying, "great name, Walter is a handsome boy" and her neighbours responded: "He says 'thank you'."

"We've lived here for nearly a year and never spoken to them, but I figured what have I got to lose," Ms Cosgrove said.

"I was so chuffed when they posted something back.

"Feeling part of a community has felt huge for me while we're in lockdown."

image copyright PA Media/Sian Cosgrove image caption The black and white cat which Ms Cosgrove had nicknamed Eric was actually called Walter

Ms Cosgrove, a trustee at Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds, posted photos of the exchange on Twitter where it received more than 750,000 likes.

She sent a message to her neighbours telling them: "Walter is now Twitter famous... sorry."

They responded with the handle for Walter's Instagram account, which already has more than 5,000 followers.