These days we all have to be careful about stowaways hitching a lift to the UK in the back of our trucks. But when a furry traveller was found hiding in a Pickfords container the staff were only too pleased to find her a home.

The feline, believed to have been a street cat, had found her way into the shipping container in Limassol, Cyprus, and spent a month on the water on route to the UK. The container was unloaded and trucked to Pickfords’ international warehouse in Kempston, Bedfordshire where the warehouse team discovered the tabby.

The cat was not in the best of health when the container was opened, so Pickfords gave her food and water to keep her going. The team called the local Bedford Trading Standards organisation who sent a team to collect the cat and take her into quarantine. Once given the all-clear, she was taken to the Cats Protection Birmingham Adoption Centre where she attracted a lot of interest. Unfortunately, being rather shy after her ordeal, several weeks went by before she was adopted.

Eventually, an elderly couple visited the Centre, saw the stowaway and fell in love with her. The couple were confident they would be able to coax the nervous cat out of her shell and adopted her.  Miss Pickford, as the couple appropriately named her, is now enjoying the comforts of her new Birmingham home and is slowly regaining her confidence, thanks to the kindness and encouragement of her new owners.

A happy ending to a long and frightening journey.

Photo:  Miss Pickford in quarantine.