'My cat survived being locked in a shipping container for 4 weeks': Derpy orange cat goes missing during rainstorm, his pawrents find him by chance in a giant metal container near their property

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Nov 23, 2025 11:00 AM EST

It's always the orange ones, amiright? They're known for causing trouble, and this story is no exception. Did they get stuck in a cabinet, yowling for hours? No. Did they get stuck on a roof and couldn't get down? No. But did he go missing during a rainstorm and be lost for four weeks? Yes. And his pawrents were pawsitively beside themselves. They searched everywhere, and when they had just about given up, they heard meowing. 

Was it under their front porch? No. Was he hidden underneath some car? Also no. The meowing was coming from inside a locked shipping container close to their property. They were able to unlock the door and get him out, wondering how he survived in there for 27 days. Who knows if he was actually in there the whole time, or if he just got stuck there for a little while, but what's impurrtant is that he's back home, safe and sound with his family. Let's hope he doesn't go on another adventure anytime soon, that was more than enough excitement for one lifetime.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10578140672
    via Esmko
  • 02
    He went missing on the night of a rainstorm nearly a month ago. We'd been searching for him ever since, but hadn't heard or seen anything.
    via Esmko
  • 03
    Today, we were walking past a property next to our house with an old rusty shipping container in it, when we heard meowing.
    via Esmko

  • This might be the strangest place we've ever read of someone finding a cat. People, unfortunately find kittens in the trash all the time, and we've even read stories of finding cats in sewers, but a shipping container? That's a furst.

  • 04
    We'd called for him around this property several times before but heard nothing, then suddenly he hears us talking and starts shouting from inside a closed rusty old shipping container.
    via Esmko
  • 05
    The door was heavy and latched shut, but we got him out. He was very skinny and skittish, but recognised us after a few moments We are over the moon to have him back, but so confused as to how he survived for 27 days.
    via Esmko
  • 06
    Is this even possible? Or is it more likely he wasn't in the container the whole time?
    via Esmko
  • 07
    RogueHeroAkatsuki 10h ago 3 days without eating for cat is already dangerous for liver, no way he would survive 27 days without food and water. Either he had fresh supply of mices challenging him to duel or he somehow was trapped there not long before you rescued him.
    via RogueHeroAkatsuki
  • 08
    No_Thanks_1766 · 10h ago Probably some mice in there for him to eat. Please make sure you take him to the vet to check for worms and whatnot
    via No_Thanks_1766

  • It seems unlikely that he was in there for the whole 27 days, unless the shipping container was full of cat food and water. It may very well have been, but that seems unnaturally lucky, even for a cat.

  • 09
    realjohnny555 • 10h ago Take extra good care of the orange boy, he's probably used up most of his 9 lives.
    via realjohnny555
  • 10
    MalignantLugnut • 9h ago Edited 9h ago • They can be surprisingly resilient. We were taking care of a stray cat that went missing for a month. We eventually figured out that it got locked in the neighbor's garage that he kept open 24-
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 11
    7, but close before he left the state for the holidays. He denied it up and down, but we found it very strange that the cat went missing the day he left for New York before Halloween, then a half hour
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 12
    after he came back, midnight of Thanksgiving, he showed up on our front windowsill, half his body weight gone. He has had an issue with his throat his entire life, he couldn't meow, he could only softly croak. But on that window sill, he couldn't even do that anymore.
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 13
    He never let us get close to him before this, but that night, he let us pet him, pick him up, and bring him in the house. We cried as we carried him in, imagining all those days of him locked in that building, probably in the attic window,
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 14
    making sounds we couldn't hear. So close to help he never got, watching us feed the other stray cats in our backyard every morning. We had to keep him in our bathroom because the indoor cats were not accepting him yet, but he just sat on the shower chair
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 15
    in the tub on his blanket and purrrrrrrred not stop whenever anyone came in to use the toilet. His whole demeanor changed and he became a lap cat. Very annoying when you're on the toilet lol.
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 16
    It took half a year, but he made a full recovery with food and rest. And we had him another 5 years.
    via MalignantLugnut
  • 17
    • danelaw69 9h ago SA
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  • 18
    Why did you steal my cat?
    via danelaw69
  • 19
    Ancientabs 8h ago See a vet and get a feeding plan immediately. Starved animals can die from being fed to quickly. It's called refeeding syndrome and it can cause him to deplete necessary electrolytes. He'll likely need supplementation to keep his electrolytes balanced while he regains weight.
    via Ancientabs
  • 20
    Capable_Subject_6104 10h ago I'm sorry that happened to your cat thank God he's a spicy ginger. That's probably what helped his survival.
    via Capable_Subject_6104
  • 21
    Hungry_Night9801 10h ago . I'm guessing he found a way in, considering the door was shut.
    via Hungry_Night9801
  • 22
    TrueCrimeCatsGarden 9h ago . I heard of a cat surviving a shipping container journey on a ship licking the condensation off the walls and eating bugs and rodents. I'm SO glad you and your orange are reunited!
    via TrueCrimeCatsGarden
  • 23
    Effective_Mousse 7071 9h ago My orange tabby went missing for 10 weeks in downtown Atlanta. During that 10 weeks we had record rainfall. He went from 14 to 4 pounds in that time and had a bad injury that required surgery but he's fat and happy now, exactly 10 years later. Only a year prior to him going missing I found him in an old gas can under my cousins pole barn as a tiny malnourished kitten.
    via Effective_Mousse7071
  • 24
    TheHope Bringerishere 9h ago . I can't imagine the trauma your little soul went through for 4 weeks away. The fact you were able to save him and bring him back home is a miracle!!
    via TheHopeBringerishere
  • 25
    I am so glad he is back where he belongs. Safe and being loved by his family. I hope he gets all the treats and pets!!
    via TheHopeBringerishere

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derpy adoption kitten animal rescue adopted feline cat rescue forever home Cats loving cute kittens animals rescue
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