Casper the Commuting Cat: The True Story of the Cat Who Rode the Bus and Stole Our Hearts (13 page)

Edd’s article had certainly done Casper justice, and I was delighted to see that Karen from First had also spoken to him. Everyone was being so friendly and supportive in their comments. Casper had stayed in that morning – perhaps he sensed that something was afoot – and once I’d read the article myself, I read it again to him. He seemed totally disinterested, but I was very proud of him ‘You must be careful if you get the bus today, Cassie,’ I told him. ‘You might be mobbed by autograph hunters!’

I had a few friends call me up and we all joked about my celebrity cat. They asked whether I’d be getting him a minder when he made his trips to ensure that he always got the seat he wanted and wasn’t hassled by his public. It felt lovely to have such warmth directed at my cat, and later that day I thought that I would look at the article on the Internet just to see his little face there too. I logged onto the
Plymouth Herald’s
website and was absolutely amazed when, as I scrolled to the bottom of the screen, I saw all the comments that people had left. Edd later told me that most stories get about ten messages on the board from readers, but Casper had more than a dozen times that already.

Dee from Crawley said,
‘I
loved the Casper story. Thank you for putting a smile on my face and in my heart.’

Another local lady commented; This is so cute ... I am allergic to cats and dogs but wouldn’t mind Casper sitting near me even if I did spend the rest of the day sneezing!’

One person was quick to see that, while it may have been odd, it was still a story that showed the good hearts of so many: ‘This article has put the biggest smile on my face! What a lovely story, and good on the bus company for keeping the little guy safe! He can happily have a seat next to me any day! Big smiles Plymouth, it’s nice to see we still have a big furry heart!’

In addition to the sheer number of messages, I was amazed by how many were from outside Plymouth. I’d thought this story would be a local one, but the way that people can access news from anywhere in the world these days had put paid to that.

One lady, Marjanna from Toronto in Canada, said, ‘I love this story, made my day! Go Casper, go!’

Sheila from Los Angeles joined in to comment, ‘I love this story – a very cool cat. Animals are the best!’

Maybe these people were ex-pats who always checked the local paper and that explained why there were so many comments from abroad, or maybe we really were part of a global community now. It got stranger the further I read down the page. There were people commenting from all over the globe, as well as so many locals who said that they knew Casper, that he had frequently been on the bus with them and that sometimes he had even sat on their laps. One lady made a video that looked like Casper was singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ and put it on You Tube, where it received over ten thousand hits.

This little cat of mine had a whole other life. Now that he was quickly becoming a celebrity, I hoped that I would find out even more about his adventures. If people knew that they hadn’t imagined seeing a cat on the bus beside them as they went to work or into town, perhaps they would let me know how far he went, what he got up to or anything else that would help me complete the jigsaw.

Some people – although very few – made negative comments, usually about the health and hygiene issues of allowing a cat on public transport. That made me cross. Were they perfect? Did they think that all the people who got on a bus were shining examples of cleanliness? However, before I could get too annoyed, I noticed that others were making these arguments for me, and plenty of readers were sticking up for Casper’s right to travel.

Another local commented: ‘I can’t believe you people moaning about a cat catching a bus. Is that all your sad lives revolve around? I can’t believe people are moaning about having to pay 50p for their dog – come on, are you that tight? Keep it up, Casper, enjoy yourself!’

The friendly comments were lovely, but there was also something really heart-warming about these complete strangers taking Casper’s side. People were saying how happy they felt to read a story like this, because it was a welcome break from what usually hits the headlines. When I spoke to Edd at a later date, he said that this was what he had felt from the outset too. It had been a normal day at work for him, and he needed something to balance the crime and horrible recession tales, so the notion of a cat who rode the bus seemed quirky. How was he to know what would happen next?

As Casper’s travels were being read about all over Plymouth and online across the globe, he was also grabbing the attention of Fleet Street. National newspapers were picking up on the story, and it had even been noticed by the Press Association, who sell articles to pretty much every media outlet. I, of course, knew nothing about this side of things – yet. The day passed in a bit of a blur. I spent the day answering calls and emails from friends and family about Casper, and I read the story to him again. He showed very little interest the second time round too; I suppose he already knew it all first-hand. I gave him an extra cuddle that night for being such a good boy while all of this was going on around him. When I settled him in for the evening, I whispered, ‘There you go, Cassie, that’s all the excitement over. You can just go back to your normal little trips now you’ve had your five minutes of fame.’

Who would have known how naive my words were? You’d think I’d have learned by now, but as I went to bed that evening, I had no idea what we were both in for the next day.

‘Our Casper story goes worldwide!’ screamed the
Plymouth Herald
the next day – and it was true. The story had exploded.

I did a quick search and found the story on the BBC website, the
Daily Telegraph
, and the
Daily Mail –
they had all picked up on what Edd had written and put their own twist on it. Some papers had even covered the tale in their editorial columns, usually with excruciating puns. They were all very positive and kindly disposed towards Casper’s hobby, and I felt as if he were being taken to the hearts of the nation. People from the four corners of the world commented on online versions of the story. The story was taking on huge proportions.

The response that day was incredible, but it was nothing compared to a few days later, when he appeared in newspapers and websites in Holland, Australia, India, China and South Africa. A newspaper in New York said:

No one was more surprised by all of this than me.

By the end of the day after Edd had published his first article, I felt like I was living in the middle of a whirlwind. I almost expected a public relations guru to call, offering to represent Britain’s newest star. My address was very easy to find because of the mention in the paper, and my telephone number quite simple to get too. As a result, the phone never stopped ringing. I found myself agreeing to all sorts of people coming to meet Casper for more interviews and filming. I was doing what I had done all along, which was to agree to things for an easy life. I’d had such a positive experience with Edd that I became less wary of dealing with journalists. Thankfully, I never had this positivity challenged, and everyone who has dealt with Casper’s story from beginning to end has been a delight.

I wasn’t keeping track of what I was agreeing to and a few days after the
Plymouth Herald
piece, I woke up one morning with butterflies in my tummy. It didn’t take long to realize why: I’d said that I would give some interviews to
Today
and even do some filming with Casper for news programmes, and everyone was scheduled to come at pretty much the same time. So much for my organizational skills!

I pulled on some clothes and managed to get downstairs just as the doorbell rang. Standing outside was a whole gang of people, all jostling for my attention, all calling my name and asking for Casper. There was a film crew from the BBC and the director of First Devon and Cornwall. As well as Karen, the PR lady, and Jo, her assistant, there was a filming team from another BBC section called ‘Spotlight’, Devon Radio, photographers, journalists and goodness knows who else. It was pandemonium as they debated who would film what and when.

Thankfully, Karen from First bus had arranged for one of their drivers to come along to stand in some more pictures, as I hated that side of things. This young chap was also called Rob, and he got on very well with Casper. As they stood there, posing for the photographer, I did have a slight fluttering in my tummy about how many people seemed to be interested already, but I told myself that whatever was going to happen would happen, and there was nothing I could do about it. It still didn’t seem that important, which was partly due to the friendliness of everyone; they made it seem so natural that it made me think that everything would calm down very soon.

A young chap, who turned out to be from the ‘Spotlight’ team, stepped forward and introduced himself. He said that a bus had been arranged through Karen, and they were hoping to take Casper on it for some filming. I was a bit shell-shocked but agreed. They were like bees round a honey pot. Then I suddenly realized that I had no idea where Cassie was.

I looked round frantically and was relieved to see one of the photographers lying on the floor with him, tickling him and being ever so friendly. He had such a way with Casper that I felt fine about turning my attention to the others while I heard the young man’s camera clicking away. As I kept talking, he quietly picked Casper up and smiled at me, whispering that he was going to get on a bus with him I felt quite relieved that my celebrity cat was being taken away from all the madness so I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting spooked while all these people were here.

By the time he brought Casper back, I’d done lots of interviews and was starting to feel guilty that I didn’t have something new to tell each person. The honest truth was that I didn’t really know what Casper got up to every day; in fact, since the story had run, I was finding out more than ever before. Everyone said that I was doing well, but by the time I had to pick Cassie up and get on the bus with him for some filming, I was shattered. I’m no film star and I’d never thought I’d be signing up to have my face on screen first thing in the morning.

Driving round the number three route was odd. There were no real passengers; instead the bus was full of journalists and photographers all desperate for their piece of my little cat. We did a few circuits so that they could all get the shots they wanted. By the end, I was happy to collapse at home, with Casper in my arms. As I put the kettle on, I laughed at the fact that he looked exhausted too, and certainly showed no inclination to go on another of his daily bus rides.

‘Well, Cassie,’ I said to him, once I had a cup of tea and he had some turkey roll, ‘that was certainly a very odd morning, wasn’t it? I’m not sure you and I are cut out for this lark. Never mind, it’s back to real life for us now You’ve had your five minutes of fame.’

If I believed things would stop there, I was proven totally wrong. Once the new newspaper articles were published and the news clips aired, I started to get letters from all over the world. People were so drawn to Casper and his story, they wanted more information, more snippets from his life. It was also as if he were filling some terribly sad void that many of them had in their lives, as they told me of pets they had lost, families who had moved on, loneliness that filled their days.

One lady wrote: