A conductor is looking for the owner of a furry stowaway found on a train from Winnipeg to Edmonton.
During a routine safety check in Wainwright, Alta., Brad Slater found the cat curled up under the engine deck of the train he was operating.
The feline, temporarily dubbed "Q-199" after the train where it was discovered, may have been hidden there for up to 12 hours in temperatures that plunged as low as minus 40 C.
"It's just meant to be, it's a miracle," Slater told CTV Edmonton.
Because the train left Winnipeg early Sunday morning, and stopped in Saskatoon before entering Alberta, Slater isn't certain where it came from.
"He's got a few cuts on his paws and frostbite on his ear," said Slater, explaining that, despite the frigid temperatures, "Q-199" is now doing well.
Slater fed the cat jerky and water aboard the train, before bringing the animal home to his wife in Edmonton.
Although it doesn't have a collar or chip, Slater believes "Q-199" is a house cat.
"He's so affectionate, so loveable and so docile," he said, nevertheless hoping to reunite the feline with its owners.
“It'll be hard, I want visitation rights. But it's the right thing to do, there's someone out there who's missing this cat," he said.
With a report from CTV Edmonton's Shanelle Kaul
