Daredevil cat reunited with family following 70mph motorway trip clinging to roof of van

A cat named after a cartoon stuntman clung to the roof of a van as it hurtled down a motorway at 70mph. 18-month-old Kick Buttowski had apparently clung on to a ladder on the roof of electrician Helen Stevens' van during his unexpected high-speed journey from Melton to the M69, via the M1. When Helen got on to the M69, another motorist flashed Helen a warning, so she pulled over to check what was wrong. When she saw Kick on the roof, Helen could not believe her eyes. "I was gobsmacked," she said. "The cat was on the roof rack, which had some stepladders on it, and was just clinging on for dear life. He was wide-eyed and looking terrified.



"It had to have got on at the petrol station we stopped at in Melton and we'd already gone all the way down the A46 and the M1 and were probably doing up to 70mph." Helen, 30, of Wigston, had no idea who owned the cat. She took him to Bell, Brown and Bentley veterinary clinic in Stoneygate, Leicester, where he was found to be uninjured but very shaken by his ordeal. The vet's put an appeal online on Friday, and on Saturday it was spotted by Ellise Pepper, mum of Kick's owner, five-year-old Connor Russell.

Ellise, from Melton, was already worried about Kick because he had not returned home for his dinner on Friday. She said she was astonished to see his photo and the story about his adventure. "I was on Facebook and my friend shared the link and I thought: 'That's our cat!' I was overwhelmed and quite upset about it, but then I read that he wasn't hurt. He's usually a pretty laid-back cat." Amanda Walker, a nurse at Bell, Brown and Bentley, said: "It's miraculous that he didn't fall off the roof because the car was going quite fast at times.



"To have been clinging onto the van since Melton is just amazing. He's a nice boy and although he was shaken up, he was very friendly. Before the owners got in touch on Saturday we looked after him at the vet and named him Batman because he's black with a white face and big ears. And he's certainly a superhero." Connor, who was reunited with his beloved pet on Saturday, said: "He held on and he didn't fall off, but I bet he was scared." Ellise said: "He's never done anything like this before, although he does hate to be on his own and likes to follow the children to nursery!"