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Cats' Adventures 4

(1) Lucky: Rescued from the river

Early in the morning two days after Christmas 2005, passers-by on a bridge over the Clark Fork river in Missoula, Montana, in the north-western US, heard desperate cries for help — from a cat. A tortoiseshell (calico) domestic cat was seen to be trapped in a cage that had been weighted down with a large rock; it had obviously been thrown from the bridge, but fortunately for the occupant it had landed on some ice rather than in the water.

The Missoula Fire Department was called out immediately and soon arrived with a suitable rescue boat. The feline seemed very relieved to see firemen John Macrow and Philip Keating; it wasn't clear how long it had been there, but soon it was on its way to Missoula's East Pine Street fire station. After being dried out, it was found to be a female; some left-over Christmas turkey and milk soon made her feel better and she was described as 'very friendly'. She did not appear to be very well fed — 'really skinny, nothing but skin and bones, with collar marks where a too-small collar had rubbed off the fur,' said Keating.

At the end of their shift John Macrow decided that he would keep the moggy rather than subject it to any more trauma; so, after a veterinary check-up at the 'Four Paws' animal clinic — who prescribed plenty of food and TLC — he took her home. His 12-year-old daughter Taylor was thrilled to bits, as she had long wished for a cat — and a name was easy: Lucky. 'It's the sweetest cat,' said Macrow. 'It even curled up with my black Labs this morning.'

Following the rescue and reports of the incident on the wire services, on CNN and on the internet, the Missoula Fire Department was deluged with phone calls and e-mails from all over the States, including Hawaii, and even from abroad, congratulating the firemen and in some cases offering cash to pay for Lucky's vet's visit. These offers were accepted and after paying the bill, the remaining money was donated to the Missoula branch of the Humane Society of Western Montana. City fire chief Tom Steenberg said, 'We're just doing our job. We are happy that we've got the tools and the firefighters with the training to go out in the river and operate this kind of rescue safely . . . we really aren't in the business of getting cats out of trees any more . . . a can of tuna usually works. In this instance, with a caged cat out on the ice, tuna fish wasn't going to work, and we have a lot of people here with big hearts. We couldn't ignore a situation like that.'

The story has a happy ending, but it could so easily have been different. The United States Humane Society offered a $2500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the cat's plight. I find it extraordinary that anyone would go to such lengths to dispose of a cat; surely all they had to do was go to the local animal shelter for help, if they could no longer cope with it?

(2) Emily: another 'container cat'

Emily disappeared from her home in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA at the end of September 2005. On 24 October she turned up in Nancy, France, when the container she had somehow got into was delivered to its final destination. She was able to be identified by the collar she was wearing.

From the account on the internet where I found this story it wasn't clear where Emily stayed in France, but she remained there apparently for a couple of months. In December Continental Airlines offered her a seat (in business class, no less!) to return to the United States. She was flown first to Newark, NJ and then on a connecting flight to Milwaukee, the airport nearest her home. According to an airline steward on her international flight, Emily didn't care for the salmon fillet that Continental offered, preferring her French cat food.

The story on the blog site prompted a large number of comments and replies — including one saying that the author had sampled the food served on Continental Airlines and thought that he too might have preferred the cat food! If you can read French, visit this page.

[The tale of another 'container cat' can be found as the final item on this page. You may also like to read the story of possibly the most well-known 'accidental traveller': The Voyage of Colin's Cat.]

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Our featured feline at the head of the page is Socks, pictured in 2003 surveying his 'estate' in the early morning sunshine. Affectionately known as Soxy, he blossomed from a thin and hungry stray into a substantial and handsome cat who loved life and company, and his gentle ways endeared him to many friends. He is now no longer with us, but you can read more from his human companion here.

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