A GLOBE-trotting stowaway cat who spend three weeks in a freight container is facing a death sentence unless someone comes forward to help.The cat arrived in Felixstowe in a container from Malaysia and is spending the next 11 days in quarantine.
A GLOBE-trotting stowaway cat who spend three weeks in a freight container is facing a death sentence unless someone comes forward to help.
The cat arrived in Felixstowe in a container from Malaysia and is spending the next 11 days in quarantine.
The cat is likely to have spent at least three weeks in the container and was discovered while the container was being offloaded.
After the 11 days, the cat will be put down unless someone volunteers to pay for cost of keeping the animal in quarantine for the next six months.
Animal health officers from Suffolk County Council's Trading Standards Department were alerted when the animal was discovered and went to collect the cat.
Since it posed a very real threat of rabies they then arranged for quarantine provision for it.
The cat, thought to be around one year old, was severely emaciated and dehydrated after its journey.
It has eaten a little food and water and has been examined by a vet who has said that as long as the cat responds to food and water it has a fighting chance of survival.
The cat was taken for further tests and put into quarantine where it will remain for the next eleven days, after which it will be destroyed unless someone comes forward who is prepared to pay the quarantine costs for the next six months.
The total costs at this stage are not yet known.
Peter Monk, Suffolk County Council's portfolio holder for public protection, said: "There are strict controls in place to prevent diseases such as rabies entering this country via animals, and it's vital that we do not forget the threat that it poses to people and to our native wildlife.
"Any animal found in these circumstances must be treated in this way for the safety and security of everyone.
Anyone wanting more information on this case should call Trading Standards on 01473 584872 within the next eleven days.
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