A CURIOUS cat which sneaked inside a shipping container in Egypt survived 17 days without food and water and travelled more than 3,000 miles before arriving in Herefordshire.

The ginger tom cat, who has since been named Sinbad, was discovered by staff at Mediterranean Linens in Moreton-on-Lugg.

Staff heard desperate meows coming from inside the newly arrived container, which was carrying laundry linen.

The RSPCA rushed to the scene and found the eight-month-old cat to be very friendly but understandably ravenous.

RSPCA inspector Pippa Boyd said it was an incredible feat to have survived the 17 days and – initially – hard to believe.

“They showed me the paperwork,” she added. “They have to seal the containers and put a tag on there, which they did when the container left. They showed me the paperwork and the tag, and it did all match up.

“We thought maybe at customs someone might have opened it up, but they didn’t.”

Once found, Sinbad was taken to the Laurels Veterinary Surgery in Whitecross, Hereford, where he was fed a little at a time.

He has now gone into quarantine for four months.

His journey started at the Nile Linen Group in Alexandria port in Egypt on March 8.

The container got to El-Dekheila port on March 9, Felixstowe in Suffolk on March 24 and then Moreton-on-Lugg on March 25.

Ms Boyd said: “He is such a curious cat. He just seems to be wanting to be everywhere and see everything. I imagine they were loading and he just sneaked in.”

She said in her eight-year career for the RSPCA she had never seen anything like it.

All the linen was intact but Sinbad had made himself a bed in one of the boxes.

Graham Monteath, MD at Mediterranean Linens, said they could not work out what the noise was when the shipping container arrived.

He said: “I have never heard a cat meow like that in my life. I would never have thought that was a cat.”

Sinbad’s first taste of food on English soil was two slices of British beef which was going to be Mr Monteath’s lunch.

The quarantine stay will cost the RSPCA almost £2,000, so an appeal page has been set up to cover costs.

Ms Boyd said: “For us it is a lot of money for one cat. But he has had such a plight and got all of this way so the only thing we can do is to get him through it. He is a very affectionate cat and once he has finished his quarantine he will be looking for a loving home.”

To add money to the appeal click here. 

Mediterranean Linens has donated £100. Donations have also been received from Paragon Laundry/ Clean Linen Services and Fresh Linen.