Ginger the cat back home in Easter Ross town of Alness after unplanned 100-mile jaunt in the back of a skip
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A PET cat that went missing from its Alness home on Hogmanay turned up 20 days later – more than 100 miles away.
When Ginger vanished from his Hawthorn Place home at the turn of the year, Susan Low and family started to fear the worst as the days ticked on and the temperature dropped to bone-chilling sub-zero levels.
They suspected he may have wandered to the nearby Pat Munro quarry but despite the best efforts of searchers and a well-supported social media push, there was no sign of the beloved puss, the family's first pet and a firm part of the household since he was a kitten.
But then on Friday morning, Susan's friend Kelly, who works for electrical recycling firm ILM in Alness called to say he had been found – in a skip in Perth!
It transpired that Ginger had somehow found his way into the skip and survived freezing temperatures before taking an unexpected two-and-a-half hour trip down the A9.
He may have gone up to 20 days without food with rainwater helping to keep him alive.
Ginger was spotted as the skip as being emptied by eagle-eyed staff at Shore Recycling in Perth before being rushed to the nearest vet for treatment.
Said Susan: "He was barely alive and needed emergency treatment. Thankfully Ginger is microchipped and the vet phoned me with the good news that he was responding well to treatment. After a night in the veterinary hospital we travelled down on Saturday morning and were able to take him home.
"He is doing amazingly well in his recovery and getting lots of TLC at home."
Her children Ewan (13), a pupil at Alness Academy, and Emma (9), who attends Bridgend Primary, are both over the moon to have the family pet home.
Susan added: "His story has captured the hearts of all who have met him and heard of his remarkable adventure. We cannot thank the staff at Shore Recycling and Tay Valley Vets enough for saving him. The staff at the vets were very attached to him and wanted to say goodbye, which was quite emotional."
