Cat survives trip across the Pacific

LOS ANGELES - A three-month-old cat from China may be the living proof of the superstition that a cat has nine lives, after it survived a 21-day trip from Shanghai to Los Angeles in a shipping container without food and water.

The male kitten was named "Ni Hao" by Los Angeles County's Carson Animal Care Center staff who received it on July 11 as it was discovered after the shipping container was delivered to a business in the city of Compton in Los Angeles County.

"Ni Hao" means "hello" or "How do you do" in Chinese.

"Ni Hao" shot to stardom when U.S. media published its photo and the story on how it survived a 6,500-mile trip from China.

"He is absolutely a pet star since his arrival," Sam Ghobrial, an animal care assistant, told Xinhua Thursday.

"He is receiving special care in our animal care center," said Ghobrial. While the other cats are kept in small cages, "Ni Hao" has the luxury of a single room with a spacious cage, which animal care workers have furnished with a bed and even with a toy, he said.

"He needs special treatment. We gave him fluid shots and other medical care to save him," said Ghobrial.

The cat was unconscious when it was first rushed to the care center, but can eat cat food and drink water by itself after eight days of special care.

According to Ghobrial, "Ni Hao" is adored in the animal care center. All the animal control officers and workers have come to visit it, and after the news has spread, about 150 visitors have come to see the Chinese kitten.

The orange-and-white short-haired feline will have to undergo a 60-day quarantine at the Carson animal shelter, said Ghobrial.

The cat could be adopted by people who really love it after 60 days, he said

"There is a line of people waiting to adopt 'Ni Hao' since he is famous now," said Ghobrial.

How the cat survived the trip is anyone's guess. Aaron Reyes from the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care told the press that he did not think "Ni Hao" would have survived for a month at sea with no food and water if he was an adult.

"In my 22 years at the department, this is the first time I have ever encountered something like this," Reyes said.

According to Ghobrial, the kitten must have found its own way of surviving in the container. It may have found something to eat or drink, he said.

It is the first time he has seen a cat becoming so popular here with so many fans, he said.

Many Americans have sent their best wishes over the internet. "We would love to adopt him," wrote Los Angeles residents David Avalis and Trish Kennedy.

"I am not local but I'd take him in a heartbeat! Do you think he'd like a plane ride east?" wrote Beverly Williams.

"That kitty has Chinese eyes," observed Marc Scime, while one Pico Phreako wrote that "Hope he pulls through and ends up in a great home, he deserves it."