A Front Street ladies' store is not the place one expects to hear cats meowing, so Donna Boddington, a buyer at A.S. Cooper's Harbourside outlet, at first doubted the distinctive cries coming from the area of the loading dock.

A closer look, however, proved she was not hallucinating, and in no time she and her colleagues located a rather grubby animal with a very sore eye cowering behind an iron gate.

The instant reaction was to try and befriend the cat, so staff rushed out and shared the cost of buying food. Grateful though the animal was for the à la carte treatment, it was a stray and very skittish. The slightest move towards it, and it was off. It took about a week a half for the staff to realise that they were actually dealing with not one but two stray cats with identical markings.

The loading bay area was dirty, dusty and busy, with trucks coming and going; not far away was the incessant traffic of Front Street. Clearly, the best thing was to turn the cats over to the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB) for adoption, but this organisation only traps, spays and releases mature cats back into their colonies. It does not adopt them. So it agreed to put the cats through the treatment plan and return them.

Unfortunately, the cat with the bad eye had cancer so it was euthanased, while 'Crusty', as its mate was dubbed, returned to its adoptive "parents" on Front Street. Months of patient coaxing later, the cat allowed Wendy Wong-Turner to rub her head and chin, and instantly became enamoured of the process.

"From that moment she was ours," the inventory control buyer smiles.

"Ours" was indeed the operative word, for Crusty lost no time in making herself at home with the staff and enjoying the hospitality. Toys, woollen yarn, and a proper cat bed soon became part of the landscape, while a selective paw purloined an employee's sweater for added comfort.

Of course, Crusty soon had many staff "aunties" to care for her, but everyone knew Mrs. Wong-Turner was "mum", and it was she whom the cat instinctively obeyed. Saturday feeds were the responsibility of Shirley Carriero.

There were lessons in manners, including "time-outs" for transgressions, such as playfully attacking with her claws.

As the months passed, the staff became more and more attached to the calico stray — even Ms Boddington who, until her "conversion", was actually afraid of cats. For Shaneeka Hollis, there was a similar epiphany.

"She was my first pet, and I am now a cat lover," she smiles.

As good as life on behind-the-scenes Front Street was, with the nights getting cooler and winter on the horizon, Mrs. Wong-Turner decided it was time to take Crusty into her home in the suburbs, which is shared with Jack the neutered tom. Needless to say, he was not overwhelmed with the feline interloper, but now accepts her presence, and watches her every move.

The first two nights were somewhat traumatic for the new "parents", as Crusty demanded to go out at 4.30 a.m. on Saturday and did not return until 11 p.m. on Monday. In fact, it was Jack who alerted the couple to her return.

Since then, the cat has settled into what Mrs. Wong-Turner calls "the life of a queen" with regular meals, soft beds and sofas to choose from, and plenty of time to groom. In fact, she is now so sleek, clean and beautiful that she is unrecognisable to those who first knew her as a grubby, skittish animal.

"She is now the most affectionate, playful, attention-demanding cat," Mrs. Wong-Turner says.

"She loves to snuggle, and sleeps on the bed. Her favourite TV programmes are 'Meercat Manor' on Animal Planet, and America's Funniest Animal Videos. She will sit in front of the TV and watch them for hours."

Certainly, Crusty has defied predictions that she would never be tamed, let alone become a household pet — a story which Mrs. Wong-Turner hopes will be an inspiration to others.