This story has become viral, and I still can’t figure out how a cat maintained his footing atop a speeding van for 100 miles. Nevertheless, he did. Click below to read the tail (or find it archived here):
An excerpt:
They left their home in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, early in the morning on Sept. 26, and drove east, stopping for gas and a bathroom break after about 100 miles.
Tony got out of the van, and when he looked up, he saw the family’s 8-year-old cat, Ray Ray, perched atop the roof. Laughing and completely floored, Tony called to his wife, Margaret, to come see for herself.
“All these things are going through my head. The roads that we’ve traveled on, the semitrucks that we’ve passed, the hills, the stop signs, everything. How did this cat stay on there?” Margaret said. “And he was completely unfazed. He’s stretching like he just got up from a nap.”
. . .At first, the family was panicked. What if Ray Ray had fallen off?
The family had luggage strapped to the roof of the van, and their theory is that the cat must have lodged himself next to it somehow.
“There were some claw marks,” Margaret said, where she thinks Ray Ray must have been holding on. “I assume he somehow burrowed his way, maybe underneath it or even around those straps, to stay put where he was.”
She also thinks Ray Ray must have been hunkered down, because no one on the interstate honked or indicated to them anything was amiss, like that their cat was on their roof holding on for dear life.
Margaret grabbed the cat and brought him into the car while the couple discussed what to do. Apart from vet trips and short rides around town, Ray Ray had never left their small farm before. They had someone coming to take care of Ray Ray and their other animals — including sheep, a pig and a couple of dogs — later that morning.
At that point, they decided they were too far from home to turn around and take Ray Ray home.
The family found a Petco and stocked up on the supplies Ray Ray would need for a week away, including a harness, leash and a cat backpack so they could easily take him along while sightseeing.
Here’s a video of the intrepid Ray Ray:
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I saw this notice on Facebook about an agéd moggy named Flossie:
This is what Wikipedia says about Flossie, who, at 29 (approaching 30) is the world’s oldest living cat:
Early life
Flossie was born on 29 December 1995. As a kitten, she lived in a feral cat colony near St Helens Hospital, Merseyside. Several staff who worked at the hospital adopted the kittens of the colony, including Flossie.[3] Flossie lived with her first owner for ten years until their death, and was then adopted by their sister. The cat lived with the second owner for 14 years until her death.. . .
Adoption
In 2022, Flossie was adopted by Victoria Green. Green at first thought that the advert posted online by Cats Protection was a mistake, because the age listed for Flossie was 27 years.[2] Green lived in Orpington and had previous experience caring for senior cats. Flossie was deaf and had limited eyesight. After moving in with Green, she was initially disoriented due to her advanced ailments, but over time settled down and became comfortable living with Green.
Guinness World Records
Just before Flossie’s 27th birthday, Guinness World Records officially recognized her as the oldest living cat, becoming an official world-record title holder. Despite Flossie’s advanced age, she remains active and often will wake up early for breakfast, before napping and playing for most of the day. Flossie is the seventh oldest verified cat to have ever lived, behind Creme Puff, who lived to the age of 38 years, as well as Puss, Ma, Granpa Rexs Allen, Kitty, and Scooter. Other cats have been claimed to have been older, but were not verified.
I’ve written about Creme Puff before, but look her up on Wikipedia, too. Here’s a video:
Here’s a 9.5-minute video of Jake Perry, Creme Puff’s staff and some of his many his cats. It’s lovely—watch it! You can see Perry cooking breakfast for the cats; Granpa, a Sphynx, makes an appearance; and record-holder Creme Puff finally shows up at 7:23, looking very good for 35!
And here’s a video of Flossie taken a while back:
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Unfortunately, the 52-minute movie below: “Istanbul: The City of Cats” is not available on YouTube in the US, or in English, though it was once on YouTube (see here). But if you speak French or German, you can watch it and understand the language (use the “language” button to the left of the volume button).
The good news, however, is that you can enjoy it even without speaking the language; the scenes themselves tell you what’s going on. Click on the screenshot below to see it. Also, if you want to see a fantastic movie about Istanbul’s cats made in English, find the movie Kedi (Turkish for “cat”) and watch it. Even if you aren’t a cat fan, you’ll love this movie, as it’s about Turkish culture, too. You can watch “Kedi” on YouTube Premium; go here to get started.
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Lagniappe: From Lorenzo the Cat, one of the best explanations ever for why cats are the best pets:
h/t: Debra, Gordon
As usual, thanks so much for Caturday–don’t know what I would do without it.
A local tv station included a report about the cat on the car roof, but didn’t give many details, so thanks for providing the rest of the story.
Thank you to Victoria Green for adopting Flossie, ensuring she can enjoy the final years of her life.
And a thousand thanks to Jake Perry for adopting all those kitties who needed homes. That takes a lot of work, but is so rewarding.
“Kedi” is truly a wonderful film. I intend to watch the one about the cats in Istanbul later this weekend. Makes me even happier that I learned German!
Very nice Caturday feature! I’m not sure that I’ll watch the entire 52 minute video, but I have it queued up and will watch some of it. The Ray Ray story is incredible! One can only imagine what could have happened. But I don’t want to.
I had the same chilling thought, and I’ll spell it out: how often has it happened that cats were napping on cars when the drivers got in and drove off, and the cats were blown off and injured or killed? But I made myself feel better by remembering that cats have some built-in protections: they are light and lithe and, as we know, they often survive shocking falls. And that’s as far as I want to think about it.
The cat-on-the-roof story is strange to me. I saw the news coverage, and remarked to my wife that there was never footage aired of the van top. Was there a luggage rack or luggage on a rack that enabled the cat to hold on? As a former interviewer myself, one of my questions would’ve been ‘can you show me just where you found him/her?’ Also, the fact that as the story rolled out, it was revealed that the wife already had a multi-children’s-books deal makes me wonder even more. But not enough to care more to research it; just to comment here.
Was concerned about Ray Ray and relieved he found a place to tuck himself in. Amazing how old a cat can live, out-lasting two owners. Lagniappe is an excellent description for why we love cats.
Nice Caturday selection!
🐈🐈🐈
Update: I tried to get the Istanbul cats film, but when I click on your link, all I get is “video unavailable in your country.” Any suggestions?
I just got back from a trip to central and eastern Turkey, and there are cats (and dogs, but more cats) everywhere! Not feral, just stray; people feed and pet them, and they wander into hotels and stores and restaurants at will. We also saw the amazing cats of Van, white (mostly) fur with eyes that are blue or, not uncommonly, one blue and one yellow eye! It was a delightful aspect of an amazing trip!
Thank you as always for another lovely Caturday!