Mews: Owner surprised to find cat regularly catches bus

Came across this article through a friend and while it is a bit older we thought it was an amazing story to share!

A pet cat named Dodger is living up to his name – by catching free bus trips from his home town.

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The ginger moggy, who was named after the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, has taken to hopping on and off the public transport at the bus station near his home.

The 15-year-old Tom even sits on bemused passengers’ laps as the bus makes up to 10 mile round trips from Bridport to Charmouth in Dorset.

Dodger is such a regular customer that some of the drivers take tins of cat food to work with them to give to him. They even know what stop to let him off at.

At the end of his journeys the roving moggy returns to his home and owner Fee Jeanes.

Mrs Jeanes, 44, believes Dodger first took a liking to the buses as they are warm like greenhouses when the sun is on them.

But the adventurous pet has since ended up being taken for several rides.

Mrs Jeanes, 44, said: “We moved here 19 months ago and our house backs onto the bus station.

“He is an old boy and is very friendly. At first Dodger kept going to the bus station because people there fed him tit-bits and scraps of food.

“But then he started climbing on board the buses because they are almost like greenhouses when it is sunny.

“Then last week I found out he had travelled to Charmouth and back, which is a 10 mile round trip.

“I hadn’t seen him all morning until my daughter Emily told me one of her friends had just seen him on the bus at Charmouth.

“I couldn’t believe it and panicked. I got into my car to go off and look for him and then at that moment the bus pulled up near our house and low and behold he got off.

“He had fallen asleep on board and nobody knew about it. When the driver realised he knew who Dodger was and where he lived and kept him on board.

“That afternoon I saw Dodger climb on board another bus and I rushed to tell the driver.

“I was shocked when she told me Dodger was always on there and liked to sit on the seats because they are warm from where people have been sitting.

“The drivers buy cat food for him and he sits on people’s laps.

“Sometimes he just sits in the middle of the road and waits for the bus to turn up before he gets on.”

Dodger is familiar to regular bus passengers and drivers, but Mrs Jeanes still receives several calls a week asking if she has lost a ginger cat.

A spokesman for bus firm First said they didn’t mind Dodger on their buses but didn’t actively encourage him.

He said: “The drivers have been asked not to feed it because we recognise that cat has an owner and we do not want to discourage it from returning home for food and shelter, but in principle we do not have a problem with it being around the bus station.

“Given this cat is elderly we suspect it would be eligible for free travel, perhaps a bus puss, if such a thing existed.”

The original story and photo can be found on The Telegraph news site by clicking here.

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87 thoughts on “Mews: Owner surprised to find cat regularly catches bus

  1. franhunne4u says:

    There was “Casper the Commuting Cat”, a book was written about him which a friend of mine gave to me. Taking public transport seems to be a thing with cats. Liked the statement: “Given this cat is elderly we suspect it would be eligible for free travel …”

  2. janetweightreed10 says:

    I love this story. When I lived in Wales there was a black cat that travelled from Abergarvenny to Hereford every day on the train….It belonged to one of the taxi people who worked in Abergavenny. Such amazing little creatures, and I do love them:)

    • Marc-André says:

      It’s quite interesting how many of our feline friends are using public transport. Why walk if you can take the bus and clean your fur at the same time hehe

    • Marc-André says:

      Thank you :). I just started following it. If you fancy a guest appearance on our blog we could translate one of your stories into English ? I’m from Hannover originally btw! 🙂

  3. Carina ? says:

    Oh my – what a cool story! I love how they just let him ride the bus <3
    People around here would never let a cat ride around like that!

  4. Leilani says:

    This is the most amazing story ever!! I wish I lived in that cat’s neighborhood. Kitty’s become such interesting little people as they age, don’t they? Thanks for sharing!

  5. Arielle says:

    I love this story and I remember when I was young… we have a dog who was doing the same thing, one day per week, he took the tram to go to his butcher !!!
    Incredible !!! (sorry for my english…)

  6. Through a Close-up Lens says:

    My story about my feline alarm clock is pretty tame compared to that! I think the British are much more tolerant toward cats than we Americans seem to be. I’d love to ride a bus with a big cat on my lap, but I doubt one would be welcome on any bus I know about.

    • Marc-André says:

      Haha. Glad you liked the story :). And i think its unfortunately only the coubntry side and smaller towns that have these gems of fun feline stories. Once you live in London etc people are less tolerant 🙁

  7. kalabalu says:

    Free rides is always so pleasurable…no need to buy tickets or ask…just wag your tail and nod…the driver to start..and if by chance you fall asleep..you will reach home…in time for next ride indeed

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