Andrew Hancock bought the winning scratchcard when he took his wife Paula's car to a local petrol station to buy food for six-year-old Shortcake.

In his excitement, Mr Hancock forgot to pick up some grub for the ginger tom - who ended up dining on ham.

"If it wasn't for Shortcake, we wouldn't be millionaires," said Mr Hancock.

Asked if the pet, nicknamed "Shorty", had brought them much luck before, Mr Hancock said: "Not particularly. He's just a normal cat."

The couple, who live near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, joked that Shortcake "does like a fight", and "keeps everybody up at night".

But he will no doubt be feline fine after his owners promised to upgrade his usual cat food.

Shorty appeared to be taking everything in his stride as he was photographed during a press call at The Pumping House, in Ollerton, on Tuesday.

So far, the only purchase the couple - who run a catering business together - have made is a new phone for their 12-year-old son Xavier.

They said they plan to take some time off and go travelling, starting with a trip to Australia.