Stowaway Italian kitten finds forever home in N.S. after transatlantic voyage

A furry, whiskered, stowaway has survived an unlikely trip up crosswise the atlantic ocean and is at present safe in a Nova Scotia place.

The kitten now known as Grim was discovered aboard the Grimaldi Grande Congo, a Ro-Ro vessel carrying FIAT vehicles from Savona, Italy to the Autoport in Halifax.

Master Seaman Mike Hurry, a member of the navy working alongside Canadian Border Services Agency officers, was part of a team that searched the ship on June 25.

The mission got a little hairy when they learned the crew had reported a stray on board.

"We kind of made it our mission to find the cat and safely get it on the shore," Hurry said.

He said the search ended successfully when some other officers found the black and white fluffball cowering under a lifeboat.

Hurry said the the ship's crew were kind to their uninvited guest, but were unable to take it inside because of health and safety concerns.

He said the crew tried to feed the cat in a very Italian way.

"Believe it or not, I was talking to one of the crew members and they were feeding him little bowls of pasta," Hurry chuckled.

The ship's captain was determined to find the stowaway a good home in Canada.

After a brief stay with the ship's agent, Hurry and his wife decided to make the kitten a part of their family of three kids, a Saint Bernard dog and another cat.

"When I told the kids we were bringing the cat home, they were over the moon," he said. "It was hilarious."

The family officially adopted the kitten on June 28, when he is estimated to have been about eight weeks old. 

Hurry said little Grim was initially extremely skittish.

But after a bath to remove the grease and oil covering his fur and some acclimatizing, he's settled into domestic life perfectly.

"We couldn't even get within arms reach  of him," Hurry said.

"But now the cat sleeps with us and we can pet it and he's totally warmed up to the family."

As for naming the cat, the family felt an Italian name was appropriate and eventually settled on Grim, a truncated version of Grimaldi — the shipping line whose vessel he was found on.

Hurry said his father prefers FIAT.

Grim's days of hiding under lifeboats are now over and he is a legal Canadian resident with vaccinations from Eastern Passage Veterinary Hospital.

Hurry thinks it was all a happy accident that meant the kitten in the right place at the right time.

"It was just so out of the blue … it just so happened everything lined up. And now we have a a great cat in our in our family."

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