'Raflacat' safe and sound

Raflatac cargo workers in France were shocked to find a stowaway cat in a container shipped from the US.

Dubbed ‘Raflacat’ by the workers, the cat had gone missing in her hometown of Appleton in Wisconsin. It appears she went prowling around a local warehouse and ended up in a cargo container – and three weeks later she and the storage unit were in Nancy, France.

Raflatac spokeswoman Christele Gozillon told Sky News: ‘We received a container from Wisconsin full of bales of adhesive paper. We heard a cat meowing. It was a real surprise.’

The cat, whose real name is Emily, was wearing a tag so the company called the owner’s vet John Palarski to tell him that she was safe. ‘There must have been a lot of mice on the boat,’ he said.

Owners Lesley and Donny McElhiney were delighted to hear their wandering pet had been found. They are now working out how to get Emily home after her quarantine period in France. In the meantime Emily's adventure has caused quite a stir and she and the family have been in constant demand for television appearances.