19 November 2008

A cat has managed to survive a train journey by clinging to the underneath of a carriage.

The scared cat was found beneath a train carriage by staff from Direct Rail Services, in Carlisle, Cumbria.

Sam Glencross, from the company, discovered the pet which is believed to have boarded the train 100 miles away in Teesside, Middlesbrough.

The traumatised cat was initially too scared to leave the undercarriage area of the train but staff tempted her out with food.

Currently the stowaway is being cared for by the Animals Refuge, in Carlisle, while it searches for her owners.

"She's obviously someone's pet, but strayed somewhere she should certainly not have gone," Nicky Diebel, from the refuge, told the Northern Echo.

"After such a frightening trip it would be nice to give the story a happy ending and send her home - but maybe not by train."

A cat owner from Staffordshire has been reunited with her pet who was missing for five weeks.

The pet was found 15 miles from his home and is believed to have hitched a ride on a passing barge, according to the Sentinel.