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Cat will be home for Christmas after mistakenly shipped 1,200 km to Montreal

A Dartmouth, N.S. family is getting an early Christmas present: their lost cat will be home for the holidays after a 1,200-km journey.

Baloo, a one-year-old tabby, survived the 17-hour trip to Montreal after crawling into a parcel shipped by his family.

He was spotted by a Purolator worker in Montreal last week.

"[It] could have had a much worse ending so we're very relieved that he's doing fine," said SPCA Montreal communications director Anita Kapuscinska.

The shipping company called the local SPCA when they found Baloo, and the organization was able to track down its owners.

"They couldn't be more relieved, surprised, thrilled, there were a lot of emotions going on during this phone call with them," said Kapuscinska.

His trip back to Nova Scotia begins Saturday morning.

Montreal SPCA
Montreal SPCA

Baloo got into a box of tire rims the family was preparing to ship.

"Somehow he managed to sneak into the box when no one was looking and must have taken a little cat nap," she said.

Baloo is on his way back under much cozier conditions, courtesy of the Freedom Drivers, a network of volunteers that transports animals between shelters.

The SPCA advises to double or triple-check containers before you ship them, since cats love boxes and other confined spaces.

She also suggests honking your horn before igniting your car engine, as a stray may have sought a warm place to stay for the night.