Cat opts for luxury travel to rehoming centre

A heavily pregnant stray cat took fate into her own paws, when she hopped onto a London coach for a lift to Battersea Dogs and Cats home.

The tortoiseshell and white cat snuck on to the empty coach, which was travelling from Hounslow to Vauxhall, without driver Graham Denning even noticing.

Suspicious that he wasn't alone, Mr Denning suddenly caught glimpse of a bushy tail shooting between the rows of seats, and detoured to nearby Battersea.

The cat, who has since been named Olive, had clearly grown attached to her four-wheeled home, preferring the coach's dashboard to the caring arms of Battersea staff when she arrived.

However, within hours of settling in at the centre, Olive had given birth to a litter of four kittens – much to everyone's astonishment for the second time that day.

Sadly, two didn't make it, but the other two are reportedly healthy and Olive is coping well.

"Olive and her two kittens are now on foster enjoying a rather more comfortable lifestyle until they are all ready to be rehomed," said Battersea's head of intake, Liz McWalter.

"Unfortunately, she was not microchipped so her owner could not be traced."

Tim Miles, general manager of Westbus Coach Services – Olive's transport of choice – commented: "Our driver was in the centre of London when he discovered his feline friend, so she managed to take in some of the sites during the journey out to Battersea from the comfort of our coach!"

Image courtesy of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home