Kitten somehow survives 3-week journey from China to US inside shipping container: ‘It’s incredible’

WYOMING, Minn. (WCCO) – A kitten somehow managed to survive a three-week international trip from China to the United States in a shipping container.

The cat is now recovering at Northwoods Humane Society in Minnesota.

The staff there named her Stowaway.

While the kitten isn’t up for much attention or activity yet, she’s working on building back her strength.

Renee Rude, the Northwoods Humane Society executive director, said she was shocked to learn about the kitten’s international trip.

“It’s incredible. I mean it really is shocking that that happened,” Rude said.

The cat was discovered malnourished and dehydrated – but alive – inside a shipping container in Oakdale, Minnesota, that came all the way from China.

“She’s really scared. I can only imagine three weeks in a container without food or water. She must’ve been eating rodents and drinking condensation,” Rude said.

Thankfully, the cat has been eating and drinking at the humane society. But staff are holding off on a full exam.

“We don’t want to stress her out, so we haven’t been able to do an actual exam and assess her health, but she looks OK. We don’t see any obvious injuries or illnesses or anything,” Rude said.

Now, Stowaway is headed to Pet Haven, a rescue in St. Paul, where she has a foster home lined up.

“They’re going to be able to work with her and help her get to a point where she can trust people and feel comfortable around people. And ultimately, the goal is to find a family of her own and be adopted,” Rude said.

Rude said this little cat is a testament to the resilience of animals.

“I look forward to hearing in a month’s time or two months’ time about the turnaround she makes,” she said.

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