The Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, has a new recruit–a tiny kitten named Tigger. According to the
Royal Navy Online, Lieutenant Nick Grimmer flew in to
Birmingham Airport after a vacation refreshed and ready to return to duty. Grimmer, who flies sub hunting
Merlin Mk2 helicopters for the Fleet Air Arm’s
814 Squadron, then hopped in his BMW and drove 300 miles to his post at
Royal Navy Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall. The next day, he heard a quiet, feeble meowing coming from somewhere in his car and began to investigate.
“I looked in the boot, under the bonnet, and climbed all over and under it and still couldn’t find what was making the noise,” Grimmer told
Royal Navy Online. “I called up some of our air engineers who came and helped me to start dismantling my pride and joy. On taking off the rear bumper we were greeted with a tiny tiger-striped kitten.”
Since he was already dangerously close to being late for duty, Lt. Grimmer had no choice but to take his new friend with him to work. His squadronmates, delighted by their newest recruit, named him Tigger in honor of the squadron’s nickname–the Flying Tigers. After his harrowing journey in the BMW, Tigger has been a little anxious and unwilling to leave his savior’s side.
“The place he has felt most comfortable is in my flying helmet, which is the only place he is able to sleep,” said Grimmer.
“We are more than happy to adopt Tigger as a mascot,” Commander Brendan Spoors, CO of the squadron, told
Royal Navy. “After all, it’s a tradition for Royal Navy units to have a ship’s cat!”
The 814 has launched a campaign to locate Tigger’s owners called “Operation Tiger Kitten”. If the 814 can’t find Tigger’s owners, the kitten may end up serving aboard
HMS Oceanalong with the rest of the squadron, as they are due to deploy for training exercises in the Baltic and Mediterranean.
Tigger’s story isn’t unusual. We’ve seen a few stories of kittens surviving rides after crawling into cars to keep warm during the night. Sometimes they drop out of cars at inconvenient times, like
when this kitten fell into the middle of a busy intersection. Sometimes rescuing the kitten can cause costly damage,
as this man found out after he cut his truck’s body to save a trapped kitten. Many more, however, go undiscovered and can die after getting trapped in a wheel well or engine compartment. To prevent unwanted stowaways, give you horn a quick honk to send them running. Driver should be especially vigilant in the morning after a cool night or during the spring and fall when weather changes drive animals to seek warm hiding places.
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