TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A business owner opening a shipment of 400 bird cages sent from China got an additional order he didn't expect - a severely undernourished cat.
The female cat, named China by animal service staff members, tips the scale at just over 3 pounds after being trapped in the container for the nearly monthlong trip.
Norman Goldberg, owner of Quality Discount Cages, said he discovered the cat Friday when he received the shipment at his warehouse. Several cardboard boxes holding cages had been chewed up.
``I opened it up, and out jumped the cat,'' he said.
The traveling feline apparently began her journey at a factory in China where workers started loading the parrot cages into a 40-foot metal container the first week of March, Goldberg said. The container arrived by boat in Los Angeles on April 1 and then traveled by rail to Tampa.
On Wednesday, China was recovering at Hillsborough County Animal Services, where she was eating on her own and being given intravenous fluids.
Goldberg's brother-in-law e-mailed the factory in China where the cages originated to see whether they knew anything about a missing cat.
``You gave us a very big surprise today,'' wrote Ms. Ivy of Dayang Co. in China. ``We are very happy to know our cat still alive. Would you please tell us more information about our cat? Is it a yellow or gray one? Because we have two cats, but they disappeared one month ago ... Please raise it, or you can give it to the animal asylum.''
If the cat is healthy, it will be put up for adoption.
``I hope it gets adopted,'' Goldberg said. ``It has used up most of its nine lives.''
It is only 2 hours to Tampa from where my fiance and I are. I'm going to see if he wants to drive up there and see the kitty. I don't know if we can adopt her, but I know a few people who could. Hopefully, I can convince the shelter to let us find her a good home.
The female cat, named China by animal service staff members, tips the scale at just over 3 pounds after being trapped in the container for the nearly monthlong trip.
Norman Goldberg, owner of Quality Discount Cages, said he discovered the cat Friday when he received the shipment at his warehouse. Several cardboard boxes holding cages had been chewed up.
``I opened it up, and out jumped the cat,'' he said.
The traveling feline apparently began her journey at a factory in China where workers started loading the parrot cages into a 40-foot metal container the first week of March, Goldberg said. The container arrived by boat in Los Angeles on April 1 and then traveled by rail to Tampa.
On Wednesday, China was recovering at Hillsborough County Animal Services, where she was eating on her own and being given intravenous fluids.
Goldberg's brother-in-law e-mailed the factory in China where the cages originated to see whether they knew anything about a missing cat.
``You gave us a very big surprise today,'' wrote Ms. Ivy of Dayang Co. in China. ``We are very happy to know our cat still alive. Would you please tell us more information about our cat? Is it a yellow or gray one? Because we have two cats, but they disappeared one month ago ... Please raise it, or you can give it to the animal asylum.''
If the cat is healthy, it will be put up for adoption.
``I hope it gets adopted,'' Goldberg said. ``It has used up most of its nine lives.''
It is only 2 hours to Tampa from where my fiance and I are. I'm going to see if he wants to drive up there and see the kitty. I don't know if we can adopt her, but I know a few people who could. Hopefully, I can convince the shelter to let us find her a good home.
