Boksburg learns to say ‘meow’ in Malaysian

No papers, no passport, no clearance or permissions — for more than 40 days a young stowaway hid in a container as it was shipped from Malaysia across the ocean to a South African port, then on to Gauteng.

When staff at a factory yard in Jet Park were preparing to open it in January they heard crying, and realised there was a distressed creature inside. After removing the cargo, they found a cat, terrified, starving and cowering in a corner. They called the Boksburg SPCA. 

Inspector Ralph Chivaviro took the call.

“I got there and asked them to close us in as I switched on my torch. In the dark I crept towards her and grabbed her and then managed to calm her down in my arms. She was skin and bones and didn’t even have the energy to try and run away,” he said. 

The cat weighed 700g and was put on a special diet. Although used to humans, she was skittish, scared of noises and took a while to get used to contact with people. 

“She’s definitely not feral. She does like to sit on laps and be stroked and tickled, so she’s used to people,” said SPCA secretary Sue Beadon.

The cat was named Malaysia, and her progress was charted on the Boksburg SPCA’s social media. 

“People have been very taken with her, and we’ve had people coming in just to meet her.” 

Beadon said news of the rescue spread to Malaysia, and the SPCA had received numerous message of love and thanks from the country.

Beadon said the cat had recovered well. “She’s a petite little thing and now weighs 1.8kg. She is happy and shiny and healthy and strong enough to be sterilised.” 

Chivaviro said he hoped Malaysia would find a loving home “where there are other cats that she can be friends with and teach them Malay”. 

“This is the rewarding part of my job. I see a lot of gruesome things and terrible cruelty. A lot of people are heartless. But this case has been the opposite. I am so glad I will be the one to do the post-home inspection and will be able to see how she’s getting on.”