Susan Finden - Casper the Commuting Cat - The True Story of the Cat Who Rode the Bus and Stole Our Hearts

It was this recognition of how close many of us are to our pets that I feel made Rob so open to Casper’s tale. He’d previously sent notes around to the drivers to tell them that, should they hurt an animal by accident, they must leave a note, find the owner or take the animal to the vet. I hadn’t realized until then that there is no law in this country to oblige someone who has a road accident with a cat to report it to anyone. If you run over a dog, you must tell the police or the owner, but cats are deemed somehow less important than dogs and there is no such obligation when they are involved. The official line on this anomaly is that the law considers that cats cannot be trained as dogs can, so their owners are not responsible for any injury or damage done by them It was a point that would, sadly, come back to haunt me and one that I fully intend to do something about.

After I had agreed that Rob could pass on my number, I got two calls – the first was from a lady called Karen Baxter, who was in charge of publicity and public relations at First Group. Karen told me how much she loved what she had heard about Casper and was very keen to help out with any story. I was delighted by this. I had no idea what was going on or why anyone would be interested in my little cat, so I was more than happy for a professional to give me some advice. The next call was from Edd, the journalist, asking if he could come and meet Casper and me with a view to writing something in the Plymouth Herald. Again, I was willing for him to do so, but what, I wondered, could possibly interest all of Plymouth in my cat?

I didn’t want any attention for myself. All I’d wanted was to say ‘thank you’ to people in a very low-profile way. I thought that Edd would probably come along and see that this was no story at all. How could he possibly make a headline out of it? I never dreamed it would go further. I only gave in to get some peace and quiet.

Chris was away during most of this. He knew that Casper was riding the buses, but he had no idea that the story was getting bigger. We laughed about a few things when he was home. We’d found out that Cassie only ever went on First buses, never the ones from the company that had been so rude to me when I asked for their help, and we joked that he had good taste. I did mention to him that Edd was coming, but, like me, he almost brushed it aside. Neither of us had ever had any dealings with the media, and we were rather naive about such things.

When Edd turned up, I was relieved that he was so friendly and straightforward. He fussed over Casper and chatted as we had a cup of tea. He told me that this was a lovely story that he was sure would appeal to the readers who were looking for a bit of light and happiness in the middle of quite depressing times. ‘It gets people down when they just read miserable things day after day’ he said, ‘and what Casper gets up to will really put a smile on their faces. We have to cover crime and burglaries and unemployment – it’s just part of the job – but every so often it’s lovely to have something to take the doom and gloom away.’ Edd thought that Casper would manage to do just that.

The next day a photographer arrived to take a picture of Casper. I was horrified when they asked me to be in some photographs too – it was pouring with rain and I certainly didn’t feel camera-ready. Casper was getting fidgety and he was very wet. He desperately wanted down, and I realized it was because there was a bus coming. As it came closer, I shrieked that it was the wrong bus. In my mind, it had to be a First bus that was in the picture, as those were the ones that Cassie liked; however, the photographer said it didn’t matter, and started snapping away. Those pictures of Cassie with ‘the wrong bus’ went around the world, and are doing the rounds to this day – an inaccuracy that really bothers me.

The photographer finished up and left. Edd said that the story would be in the papers the next day but it turned out that something else happened, which meant it wasn’t there when I looked. ‘Never mind, Casper,’ I said to him ‘It was never meant to be.’ I knew that not all stories ended up in the paper, and I assumed that Casper’s tale wasn’t quite as important as other things. With all that was going on in the world, perhaps the editor had decided that the paper was better filled with rather more serious tales after all.

I didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or not. I suppose I’d got rather carried away with the excitement of it all, even though I’d never felt that comfortable to begin with. Now that it had ended as a bit of a damp squib, Casper and I were back where we’d started – which was fine. We were happy then, we’d be happy now At least I had information about what he got up to and many more new friends to talk to on the bus every day. I believed that the article had been passed over, and things would go on as before – how wrong I was.

CHAPTER 16

Five Minutes of Fame

When I opened the newspaper on Wednesday, 29 July 2009, I could hardly believe my eyes. Casper was in the Plymouth Herald after all, a few days later than we’d anticipated. Of course, I’d spoken with Edd; I’d known that he was going to write the story, but seeing it in black and white made everything real. There was my Cassie in the paper where all of Plymouth could read about his adventures. I later found out that because there had been an ongoing story about a different bus company that had taken over the headlines for a few days, they had thought it best to leave another bus story until there was more space. Now that time had come.

It felt surreal to see Cassie’s story plastered over the pages of the Plymouth Herald. Edd’s article read:

Carefree commuter Casper is a regular passenger

Meet Casper, the commuting cat who’s fast becoming a celebrity on Plymouth buses. Regular users of First’s number 3 service may recognize the fluffy feline, who has been driving his owner up the wall with his constant trips to the city centre.

The adventurous cat politely queues behind other passengers at the bus stop outside his Barne Barton home, then quietly trots on board and curls up on a seat for the ride. But far from causing mischief he has proved a hit with drivers and customers alike, who always make sure he returns home safely.

Casper’s journey takes him from just outside his house in Poole Park Road to the final stop at Royal Parade and back, via St Budeaux Square, HMS Drake , Keyham, Devonport and Stonehouse.

His owner Susan Finden has only just found out about his antics – but First Group have been bussing Casper around for months.

Susan, who picked him out of a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit; she named him Casper after the cartoon ghost when he immediately started giving her and husband Christopher the runaround with regular ‘disappearing acts’.

The 65-year-old care worker said: ‘He’d always go off and have a wander Once I had to walk a mile and a half with a cat basket to bring him back from a car park.

‘He does love people, and I don’t know what the attraction is but he loves big vehicles like lorries and buses.

‘We think he must have come from a travellers’ site or a haulage yard because he’s not scared of loud vehicles at all – or dogs.

‘We think he’s about 12 years old but he has no road sense whatsoever; he just runs out across the road to the bus stop.’

Susan found out about Casper’s regular 11-mile round trips when he followed her to the bus stop one morning, avoiding passing vehicles by a whisker.