Bedford warehouse staff find Romanian stowaway kitten trapped in hot lorry

Warning: contains images some may find distressing
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A severely dehydrated kitten is lucky to be alive after enduring baking temperatures trapped in the back of a furniture lorry for nearly a week as it travelled from Romania to the UK.

The tiny four-week-old stowaway needed intensive care and intravenous fluids after being found by warehouse staff in Bedford

The kitten was rescued by Cats Protection volunteers and will spend three months in government-mandated quarantine.

The tiny four-week-old stowaway needed intensive care and intravenous fluidsThe tiny four-week-old stowaway needed intensive care and intravenous fluids
The tiny four-week-old stowaway needed intensive care and intravenous fluids

The black and white puss - named Roman by his rescuers - arrived in a truck from Eastern Europe and was only discovered when warehouse staff in Marsh Leys, Bedford, opened the doors to unload a delivery of furniture.

On hearing his cries for help, workers clambered carefully over boxes to trace the source and uncovered a tiny sick kitten, weak and frightened.

Thankfully for Roman, Tamsin Eastwood, co-ordinator of Cats Protection’s nearby Bedford and Biggleswade Branch, also works at the depot, so the team called her for help.

She said: “It was clear that this poor kitten was in a bad way and needed urgent help so I grabbed a cat carrier and drove to the depot.

The kitten was rescued by Cats Protection volunteersThe kitten was rescued by Cats Protection volunteers
The kitten was rescued by Cats Protection volunteers

"I asked them to check the truck for a mother cat or any other kittens, but there was only this one.

“It was a sad sight. The poor little thing was in a bad way. His eyes were stuck together and he was very weak.

"How he even had the strength to cry surprised me, but that was a good sign. He’s a little fighter and we knew what we had to do.

“We’ll never know Roman’s story or how he became trapped in the truck, but he probably snuck in looking for somewhere cosy to sleep and the next thing he was crossing borders in rising summer temperatures.

Roman was trapped in the back of a furniture lorry for nearly a week as it travelled from Romania to the UKRoman was trapped in the back of a furniture lorry for nearly a week as it travelled from Romania to the UK
Roman was trapped in the back of a furniture lorry for nearly a week as it travelled from Romania to the UK

"He must have been very hot, frightened and desperately thirsty. It’s a miracle he survived at all in this weather.”

Tamsin carefully picked up the kitten and drove to a local vet who saw that he was undernourished, dehydrated and needed eye treatment.

As the cat had entered the country undetected and without paperwork or microchipping, Cats Protection contacted Trading Standards at Bedford Borough Council, as is procedure with stowaway cats.

After being treated and made ready for transport, Roman was transferred to a DEFRA-approved quarantine cattery where he will stay for up to three months, sponsored by Cats Protection.

Roman is lucky to be aliveRoman is lucky to be alive
Roman is lucky to be alive

At around 12 weeks, he will be given a rabies vaccine before being transferred back to Cats Protection three weeks later for rehoming by the Bedford and Biggleswade Branch.

The cost of such treatment is high so volunteers at the Cats Protection branch have launched a JustGiving page - Roman's Route to Happiness Appeal - to raise money to cover the £1,600 bill.

Naomi Williams, Cats Protection’s field veterinary officer, said: “When Roman first presented to the vet at Scott Veterinary Clinic he was found to be underweight and severely dehydrated.

"He was also showing symptoms of cat flu with swollen, inflamed eyes and lots of discharge that prevented him from being able to open them until they had been bathed by the nursing team.

"Roman was admitted to the vets for intravenous fluids and intensive supportive care, which included antibiotics and lots of TLC.

"Thankfully, he responded really well to the treatments and was well enough to be transferred to the quarantine cattery the following week.

“As Roman is still very young the staff at the quarantine facility will continue to provide all the extra attention he needs, including a kitten socialisation programme to ensure he grows into a happy, confident cat.”

Related topics: