Lucky Escape 1

(from the Daily Mail)

Early in 1993 Mogadon (curiously named after a brand of sleeping pills) lived in an apartment on the 21st floor of a high-rise block at Cottingley Heights, in the English city of Leeds in Yorkshire. She was about 18 months old and hadn't been outside — living where she did, it was impractical, and anyway she had two other cats for company and was quite content. However, she did love to sit on the window ledge and observe the world from her vantage point.

One day her owner Claire opened the window, but when Mogadon jumped up to sit on the ledge she misjudged it and lost her balance. She fell some 200 feet: you can see the view from the window. But luckily her nine lives came to the rescue and she landed in a bush. Claire rushed downstairs and took the cat immediately off to the vet in a taxi. She needed some stitches in cuts and was kept in for two days, but was then allowed home, although she had to wear the collar for a few days to stop her pulling the stitches out, which she doesn't look too thrilled about.

It was reported that Claire, her boyfriend and feline family would soon be moving to a house at ground level, with a garden, so Mogadon would not be taking any more jumps into the unknown!

Lucky Escape 2

(from the Shropshire Star)

Charlie, a black-and-white moggie, lived a quiet life in the English West Midlands town of Church Stretton, Shropshire, until one day in May 2006 when he decided to go in for a spot of tree climbing. There were some very tempting tall trees in a field nearby — so off he went. He found a nice spot about 40 feet up a particularly fine tree and stayed there for a while observing the view. The trouble was, of course, that no one had given Charlie lessons in how to get down trees!

So there he stayed, frightened to move, despite all kinds of coaxing and offers of tuna from his seven-year-old owner Ella Jones and her family. At first they hadn't known where he was, until Ella's mother happened to catch a glimpse of him up the tree. A worrying week went by and Charlie, still in the same spot, must have been pretty hungry by then; so it was time to call in the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and the fire brigade with tall, extensible ladders.

However, no sooner had they got organised and ready to attempt his recovery than Charlie decided to be independent and JUMP to safety! He apparently survived the 40-foot jump with no ill effects, and was joyfully reunited with his family — who are hoping he'll be a bit less adventurous in future.

Astonishing Journey

(from the Daily Telegraph)

This handsome lady came from China — with the china! She seems to have thought a crate of crockery was a nice quiet place for a snooze, unaware that it was about to be loaded onto a ship bound for Britain. Late in May 2006 she and the cargo arrived at a firm of crockery suppliers in Kirby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire in central England.

Chairman Miaow, as she was named, apparently survived on a diet of cardboard and condensation for the 26 days the cargo was in transit from China to Britain. She was vaccinated and sent to a nearby quarantine centre, where she will be looked after for the obligatory period before being found a new home. 'She loves to be petted and fussed over,' said centre manager Wendy Reeves. 'I'm not surprised, after all that time alone in a box.'

The story echoes one made only a month or so earlier by another Chinese cat, who survived for 30 days in a container travelling to Tampa, in Florida. She was bony and dehydrated, weighing only three pounds, but businessman Norman Goldberg, who opened the container, said that otherwise she seemed fine and would be put up for adoption.

[The tale of Emily, another 'container cat', is the second item at this page. You may also like to read the story of possibly the most well-known 'accidental traveller': The Voyage of Colin's Cat.]