Kitten bags 25-mile journey in engine compartment of Tesco van

The Norwegian forest cat – otherwise known as Kitty – got more than she bargained for when she started exploring the Tesco van which was making a delivery to her home in Leighton, near Welshpool, on Monday.

Owner Sue Pallett said: "Kitty and her brother Frederick the Great – known as Freddy – were hanging around outside, and my husband, Richard, noticed Kitty had gone under the van, so he checked before the van driver left that she wasn't still there.

"After the van had gone we called for her and she didn't come, which was not like her at all.

"I called for another 10 minutes and then called the Tesco delivery number to ask them to get the driver to see if she was with him. He came back and said she definitely wasn't in the cab but that he would keep his eyes open.

"We went to look for her around our area but still couldn't find anything.

"We were getting more and more worried, and two hours later we rang Tesco again.

"They called the driver again and he said he'd checked in the back of the van and nothing had got out on any of his stops.

"He was back in Shrewsbury by this point. About 10 minutes later we got a call to say she'd been found in the engine compartment of the van."

Mrs Pallett said she was told that the driver, Mark Jones, had opened the bonnet to change a light bulb and found Kitty lying across the top of the engine under the bonnet.

"She was grubby but she was fine," Mrs Pallett said. "It was amazing.

"She went to Treowen and then other drops so she must have done about 25 miles or more. She's lucky to be alive."

The couple immediately went to Shrewsbury to collect Kitty where they found her installed in the cab of the van with a bowl of water to drink.

"She looked very worried and she was very grubby, but she was fine."

Mrs Pallett said when she got home she immediately got to work on the tortoiseshell kitten with soap and water.

"We're told that Norwegian forest cats don't mind water," said Mrs Pallett. "She was okay, actually, as long as you don't dip her in. I just used water and a flannel. She and her brother did the rest of the cleaning overnight.

"They washed each other and she was almost perfect in the morning.

"He started cleaning her straight away and she's almost clean again now – just one bit of oil left on her nose."

Mrs Pallett said her two pet cats had already survived potentially fatal cat flu, which is why they have their grandiose "The Great" nicknames.

They were bought from a breeder in Ripon, North Yorkshire, who told the couple that Freddy was the one to keep an eye on.

"The breeder said he was trouble," said Mrs Pallett. "But he came with a sister and we never thought that she'd be trouble as well."

She added: "Freddy was beside himself when we couldn't find her.

"They've been together since they were born.

"He was so pleased when she came home."

Mrs Pallet said she particularly wanted to thank the Tesco staff for their help.

"All credit to the Tesco staff, especially Mark Jones, the driver. They were lovely," she said.

"The people at Tesco in the delivery section were wonderful to look after her and keep her safe.

"The manager even came out to say he was glad it was a happy ending. We can't thank them enough."

Fflur Sheppard, a spokesman for Tesco, said the company was delighted that the kitten had arrived home safely.

"We're so pleased that little Kitty was saved by a whisker and Mark, our dotcom driver," she added.

"We're glad that catastrophe was avoided, and that both the cat and the engine are still purring."