A cat who vanished from home for the first time in his life turned up at a brewery more than 30 miles away – then repeated the feat weeks later.
The adventurous cat, Peanut, vanished from his home in Lincolnshire at the end of June and showed up at the Vat & Fiddle taproom within Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham on July 9.
The ‘vocal’ year-old pet was quickly nicknamed Screech by the staff in what was also a nod to the brewery’s strong IPA, Screech Owl,
He spent the rest of the month charming workers until owners Sam Bhamra, 24, and Charley Rawlings, 25, were finally tracked down.
His owners suspected that Peanut might have hitched a ride in a brewery van, traveling from their home in North Hykeham to the brewery, located 33 miles southwest in the city center.
Peanut spent his much of his time at the brewery tap snoozing in the pub garden or sitting out the front, people watching.
Castle Rock issued several social media appeals in an effort to locate the cat’s owners over the next three weeks until they finally decided to take Peanut to a vet to check for a microchip.
He was, and the cat was then reunited with his grateful owners.
Peanut spent his much of his time at the brewery tap snoozing in the pub garden or sitting out the front, people watching
Sam Bhamra, 24, and Charley Rawlings, 25, made their second trip to retrive their pet from Castle Rock brewery on Friday
Peanut back at home following his cross-border trips to the brewery
Ms Rawlings said: ‘When the vet called we thought it was to tell us that Peanut was dead but he was fine. We couldn’t believe it.
‘The vets mentioned he had been at the brewery, so I searched ‘Nottingham cat brewery’ on Facebook and found all the posts they had made!
‘But they were all on their Facebook page and Nottingham missing cat pages, while we were only posting on sites reaching as far as Lincoln.’
After the ordeal, the couple decided to buy Peanut a collar with a name tag, but Ms. Rawlings noted that the clever cat managed to take it off and leave it on their bed.
She added: ‘He made it quite clear he wasn’t going to be wearing that and went outside for a wander.’
But last Wednesday Peanut failed to return home again – and the couple joked: ‘We’ll know where he’ll be – back at the Vat and Fiddle.’
Sure enough, the brewery called on Friday to say Peanut had wandered in again.
According to Ms. Rawlings, brewery staff suggested that Peanut might have made the journey back to the Vat & Fiddle on foot, as there are no brewery deliveries to North Hykeham. The only route from Lincolnshire to the brewery involves a delivery from a beer wholesaler in Bracebridge Heath, just three miles from the couple’s home.
Ms Rawlings, a hospitality worker, said she didn’t think either explanation for how Peanut made the journey seemed likely, adding: ‘If he walked, the route would be all main roads and dual carriageways from here.
Ms Rawlings said it was a mystery how Peanut managed to make his way to the brewery – twice
The cat, pictured with owner Sam Bhamra, had never previously gone missing
Peanut enjoyed playing on the brewery’s fork lift truck during his adventure, Ms Rawlings said
‘It’s just a total mystery. You hear of cats going missing and turning up miles from home – but not a cat doing it twice and to the same location.’
Ms Rawlings and Mr Bhamra, who met on Tinder four years ago, travelled back to Nottingham on Friday to collect their errant pet.
Brewery warehouse manager, Simon Belshaw said of the cat’s latest journey to Nottingham: ‘I heard him before I saw him, and even then, I couldn’t really believe he had made the journey back for a second time.’
At least this time staff knew who to contact.
Mr Bhamra, who is in the military, has now ordered Peanut a GPS tracking device in a bid to keep tabs on the pet.
Ms Rawlings said that while Peanut had never gone missing prior to his great escape in June, he may have started wandering because their two older cats were making him feel ‘unwelcome’.
She added: ‘Emo, who is 11, has had three brothers now. I think he likes being the only cat and he always gets grumpy when we get a new cat.
‘Shrimp, who is four, is also quite shy and timid and he sometimes gets overwhelmed by Peanut, so they might have had something to do with him going missing.’
Danny Storer, Vat and Fiddle general manager, said: ‘What we do know is that Peanut seems to have developed quite the fondness for Castle Rock and our pub, and is becoming quite the regular.
‘We love having him around and he is always very welcome, but I’m not sure his parents are thrilled with his habit!’
