Would-be stowaway saved by a whisker

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/The Press

SAFE ASHORE: Kerryn Crouchley cuddles Dr Chicken, the cat that almost went to sea in a shipping container.

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A cat named Dr Chicken came within a whisker of an eight-day ocean cruise after being mistakenly locked in a shipping container.

Christchurch couple Adam and Kerryn Crouchley were packing a shipping container last week on their drive in Woolston before a move to Hamilton when their cat disappeared.

"It was about half an hour before the container was due to be picked up," Kerryn Crouchley said.

"We searched the container and couldn't find her, so we thought she must have gone over to the neighbour's place. The container was picked up and a couple of hours later she hadn't turned up."

The couple dashed to Lyttelton to try to rescue the missing pet, but they did not know the container's number.

"I said it was blue, and the guy said, `There are 4000 sitting there and the majority are blue'," Crouchley said.

Eventually it was tracked down through the trucking company that delivered it.

"They had to get a crane because it was stacked three-high, and they brought it over to us," Crouchley said. "As soon as they opened the door we heard the miaow."

If the Crouchleys had not got there in time, the stowaway would have spent at least eight days in the container because the ship was stopping at other ports on its journey north.

Crouchley was grateful to the port company.

"They were so helpful. I thought it might be a bit of a drama because of the security out there, but they were great."

Dr Chicken is still feeling the effects of her afternoon in confinement and was "clingy".