Cats are renowned for escaping from home and getting lost. Most cat owners will have at least one experience of their cat going for a wander and then not returning home when expected. They often go for an explore around the local neighborhood and get locked in a neighbors shed overnight and are only found when their owner puts out a plea asking for everyone to check their sheds to help them find their missing moggy. However, some cats take their adventures one step further as they end up much further afield. A recent example of this is Bear, a cat that has been dubbed the ‘Hitchhiking Cat’ as he was found more than 200 miles from his home. According to the BBC, Bear is a Burmese cat who lives in Wales’ capital city, Cardiff. After going missing, Bear was found more than 200 miles from his home in Holyhead on the island of Anglesey. He was found in a courtyard in South Stack, which is a well-known Welsh beauty spot, and his rescuers were shocked to discover just how far he had traveled after having his microchip checked.
Bear had been spotted in South Stack by many people who had rung the RSPCA as they were concerned that the cat had a neck injury. It was Jenny Anderton, an RSPCA Inspector, who was given the task of locating Bear and making sure he was safe. After she found and rescued the cat, Atherton had his microchip checked so that she could discover where he lived and return him to his owners. She was astounded when she discovered that the cat had traveled more than 200 miles all the way from Cardiff to Holyhead. Finding a lost cat was not unusual in Anderton’s role, but finding one that was so far away from home was very unusual.
This was not the only information that the microchip revealed. The details informed Atherton that he had a neck condition that was already being treated by a vet in his local area. Furthermore, she discovered that this was not the first time that Bear had been on an adventure, as he had been a lost and found cat before. Atherton commented that he must be a cat that likes an adventure. On the previous occasion, Bear had gone missing for six weeks and was eventually found in Newport. Bear’s owner is Georgina Kellen, and she has a theory of how he ended up so far from home. She had been visited by a friend who had left her house to set off on a holiday to Anglesey. Kellen believes that Bear somehow got inside her friend’s car and traveled with her to her holiday destination. Kellen said that it is surprising that her friend didn’t notice the cat in her car, especially as she stopped twice along the way. It is possible that the cat simply curled up and enjoyed a long and comfortable nap during the journey.
Now, Kellen is just glad to have Bear back at home with her, and she has said that his story is a fantastic example of the importance of microchipping. If it wasn’t for Bear’s microchip, he probably would never have made it back to his home and his owner. She is now hoping that Bear doesn’t decide he wants another adventure. The RSPCA Inspector involved has said that she is delighted that this is a story with a happy ending and she is delighted that Bear has been reunited with his loving owner. Perhaps cats in Wales have a love of adventure and enjoy car travel because Bear is not the only Welsh cat to hit the headlines because of a journey they have taken in recent years. The BBC also reported the story of a cat called Giggs who traveled to his owner’s work in the engine of the car.
Giggs decided to take a nap and he discovered that the engine of his owner’s car was the perfect place to do this because it was dark and warm. His owner then unwittingly traveled to work with Giggs sleeping peacefully in the engine for the 30-minute journey. It wasn’t until his owner’s work colleague heard a meowing coming from the engine that Giggs was discovered. Cerian Griffith, Giggs’ owner, said that the cat was lucky to survive the incident and that his only injuries were a few missing claws. Griffith works at Ysgol David Hughes Secondary School in Menai Bridge. When she left for work, she had no idea that her black cat was riding along in the engine. When her colleague said they had heard a noise coming from the engine, she thought they were having a joke. It wasn’t until Griffiths’ mum text her to say that the cat was missing that she investigated further and found her feline friend sitting in the engine.
The incident cannot have damaged Giggs too much emotionally because he has since tried to do the same thing again. Fortunately, the second time he curled up in the engine, his owner realized he was there before she had started the car and was able to remove the cat before beginning her journey to work. Perhaps Giggs has developed a taste for adventure just like Bear and was wondering where another journey would take him. Cats taking a nap in cars and their engines is actually very common. Engines and car interiors stay warm for a long time after the engine has been turned off, and this is something that appeals to cats as they love to have somewhere warm to sleep. However, having a cat ride inside an engine is very dangerous and the cat can suffer from severe burns, lose limbs in the engine, fall from the moving vehicle, or even die. Therefore, it is best to check your engine for your cat if you are a cat owner to prevent a tragedy from happening.
