Kitten hitches ride on military flight from Cuba to St. Croix
Published: August 4, 2010
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
Tony Montana stowed away on a flight from Cuba to the Virgin Islands.
ST. CROIX — Maybe it was tired of waiting in lines for milk vouchers, or perhaps it had dreams of becoming a fat cat in America, but a tiny Cuban kitten risked one of its nine lives last week to stowaway on a military plane headed for U.S. soil.
After the arduous journey, curled up in a box in the cargo hull of the plane, the feline defector was found upon arrival at Rohlsen Airport on Friday, looking tired and hungry, but in “fairly good condition,” said veterinarian Stacia Boswell.
“I think he was tired, but happy to find a nice, comfortable place to stay,” Boswell said.
Boswell was called when the furry surprise popped its head out of the box, she said. She runs Sugar Mill Veterinary Center in Estate La Grande Princesse — the estate’s Spanish origins, no doubt, coming as a welcome sense of familiarity to the kitten.
The 2-month old is a smoky-gray domestic long-hair, and it looks as if it may be part of the Havana Blue breed, Boswell said.
The kitten has been dubbed Tony Montana by the staff — an ode to Al Pacino’s frightening power-hungry Cuban gangster in “Scarface.”
But the young Tony looks far less menacing than its current namesake.
The kitten has to be held in quarantine for 10 days to make sure it is not harboring any diseases, Boswell said, and it seems to be in good health.
During the quarantine, tiny Tony will be taking a crash course on the benefits of capitalism as it purrs in the lap of luxury at Sugar Mill, which runs a pet hotel that offers a turn-down service, hiking trails, spa treatment and “paw-cures” for its guests.
In the meantime, Sugar Mill is facing a Cuban kitty crisis: Who will get to take home the cute little Cuban defector?
Tony is up for adoption, as are four other kittens and two dogs, Boswell said.
To contact Sugar Mill Veterinary Center, call 718-0002.
