An adventurous cat joined his unwitting neighbour on a 100-mile round trip after stowing away in his van. The engineer made the three-hour ferry crossing to fix broadband on a Scottish island without noticing the pet was his passenger.
Doug Craig, 31, from Oban, Argyll and Bute, had no clue that his neighbour’s cat Tia had snuck into the back of his van. The fluffy feline had been quietly hidden away as he made the trip to Arinagour on Coll in the Inner Hebrides.
The engineer only noticed Tia after he had fixed a fault in the island fire station’s broadband wiring. He said: “It was a last-minute trip due to an urgent data fault at the voluntary fire station on Coll. I was working for a few hours before I realised Tia was there.
“I’d noticed my tool bag was all hairy and thought it was really odd. I got the fright of my life when I saw two eyes shining out from the back of the van.
“At first I thought a Coll cat had sneaked in but then I got a closer look and recognised her from home. I thought, ‘Oh no, I’ve cat-napped my neighbours’ pet!’
“I’ve heard of other curious cats climbing into colleagues’ vans on occasion – but I’ve never heard of one that went to sea on a 100-mile round trip.”
He quickly contacted his mother back in Oban and asked her to let his neighbours, Elyse and Martin Hamilton, and their children Stanley, seven, and Beatrix, five, know where their cat had got to.
Doug then dashed to the island’s general store to stock up on tuna and biscuits before it shut for the afternoon. As there was no ferry until the next day, Doug let Tia spend the night in the back of the van as he slept in a tent.
After a night on the island the cat was reunited with her owners when Doug returned to the mainland. Elyse, a home economics teacher, said that it wasn’t Tia’s first trip out as a stowaway in someone’s car.
She said: “Tia can be quite shy and independent and it wasn’t until Doug’s mum knocked on the door we actually realised she was missing. She’s snuck off for wee excursions in others’ cars before – and even gone to work with Martin – but taking a holiday to Coll is wildly adventurous, even for her.
“Thankfully she was too timid to come out of the van and go exploring. Needless to say we were delighted to get her back safe and sound.
“We’re beyond grateful to Doug for taking such good care of her – as I was trying to fathom how we would manage a trip to Coll to bring her home.
“We’re hoping she’s had quite enough adventures for a while, although she seems to have really warmed up to Doug and we could see her trying it again to get spoiled.”
Doug, a former postman, joined digital network provider Openreach as an apprentice. He now works across a rural patch that also includes the Inner Hebridean islands of Tiree, Mull and Colonsay.
