Calico tests nine lives theory via Matson
Dr. Seuss might start this story by saying: The Cat, with his hat, and cats A through cat Z, know better than most not to send pets by the sea.
A 3-year-old calico cat named Spice survived for 19 days without food or water in a Matson shipping container traveling from Hawaii to California.
Spice was inadvertently locked in the container when her owners packed their belongings into the 20-foot container in Waikola on the island of Hawaii on June 14. The family was preparing to move to San Bernardino and had made arrangements to leave the cat with friends. Spice, described by her owners as an independent cat that spends a lot of time outdoors, was thought to have been left behind. Unable to find her when they left, her owners assumed Spice was just being her normal self and they asked neighbors to keep an eye out for the feline.
The owners eventually called Matson, fearing the worst. The Oakland- based ocean carrier said there was nothing they could do because the ship, with Spice's owners two containers on it, had already sailed.
Spice's family, remembering a story about a kitten nicknamed Matson who survived 10 days with no food or water in a shipping container shipped from Oakland to Hawaii, held out hope and waited for their containers to arrive.
The vessel arrived in the Port of Long Beach on Friday and the first of the family's containers were delivered on Monday, but no Spice.
The second container, delivered Tuesday morning, was hurriedly opened and after a few minutes of searching Spice leapt out.
A quick veterinarian checkup revealed Spice had come through the whole ordeal none the worse for the wear.
