Kitten travels 170 miles from Merseyside to Bristol in van engine

A Bristol vets is trying to reunite a kitten with it's owners after it made the incredible journey from Merseyside to Bristol in the engine of a van.

The cat, thought to be about 3 months old, was discovered during an obligatory vehicle check on the Parcelforce vehicle.

Miacarlla Harrison says: "He was very scared initially as he obviously didn't know where he was and he had probably just fallen asleep in there and then all of a sudden there's hands and faces that he doesn't recognise trying to get hold of him. Once he was in the office though he had a little run around doing backflips off the wall so I nicknamed him 'Taz' after the Tasmanian devil."

The cat, who has cream and brown markings and is believed to be a ragdoll breed, was taken to Zetland Veterinary Group in Redland on Thursday (July 28) evening to be assessed by a vet and checked for a microchip. Because the male kitten is too young to be chipped this makes the possibility of a reunion more difficult.

Vikki Flynn, a student veterinary nurse at the practice, said: "He's quite underweight and he was a bit dehydrated when he came in last night as well. We found ear mites in his ears and they were really dirty and he is showing signs of cat flu. He's not in tip top condition but considering he's been under a van bonnet he's been quite lucky."

His condition does suggest he might be a feral cat, Ms Flynn explained, but fortunately, he's tested negative for the feline virus. The vet's mission right now is to try and locate the owner if he has one, but if no one comes forward then the practice will look into adoption with a local rescue centre.

"We need to give it a bit more time to potentially reach the owner, probably for about seven days and then we will look to rehome him," she added. Ms Flyn said her team had never experienced anything like this before with an animal travelling such a long distance.

She continued: "We do reunite cats quite often with their owners who have been missing for months and years, which is why it's so important to microchip your cat. That's how we're able to reunite them. It's not a legal requirement but we do reunite strays on a weekly to monthly basis."

The nurses are still trying to think of a name for him while they wait to see if anyone comes forward to claim him.