THE Worcester News search for Pet Idol 2009 begins today.

There are the usual categories for owners to put forward their dogs, cats and small furry animals for the judges’ consideration.

An overall champion will then be crowned from among the category winners. We have £3,000 worth of prizes up for grabs that will be split between the winners, courtesy of sponsors Just for Pets.

A colour supplement will be published on Tuesday, November 17, featuring all the entries. Readers will be able to vote for their top 10 favourites in each category and a winner will be announced in December. In 2008, Mabel the then 18-week-old British short hair cat was crowned overall champion after a tightly-fought contest with judges struggling over which pet was the cutest and most cuddly.

Clair Hughes, aged 36, is Mabel’s proud owner, and said last year’s winnings came in handy for the her pet’s catering. “We got £500 and that’s a lot to spend on a cat, so we bought her some toys and expensive food. But then we had to carry on feeding her that after it ran out,” she added.

You can enter by sending in a clear and close-up photo of your pet by post, by e-mail or – new for this year – by text message. The closing date for entries is Friday, November 6. Just complete the coupon printed on this page and post it to Pet Idol 2009 Competition, Worcester News, Promotions Dept, Hylton Road, Worcester WR2 5JX.

Or you can drop your entry in at any Just For Pets stores in Worcester, Malvern, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster and Bromsgrove. You can also e-mail your picture and details to petidol @worcesternews. co.uk. Alternatively, text your picture by starting your message with PETIDOLWN, leave a space and then send your details including your name, address, pet’s name, category and a sentence about your pet to 80360. Messages cost 50p plus normal operator text charge. Text lines close on Friday, November 6.