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Pussy in the Post..

Sorting staff at the Auckland Mail Centre did a double-take recently when a kitten's head poked out of a cascade of letters on a conveyor belt. The staff had been looking for Fast Post and irregular-sized letters to pick out from the standard mail before it went through sorting machinery. Instead, they scooped up a little ball of black and white fluff - a kitten of about six weeks old, who flicked its ears back and hissed a warning.

Shouts from mailroom staff brought Caroline Longman down from the administration office to see what the fuss was about. When the night shift ended, Ms Longman headed for her Takapuna home with a new addition to the family. This was a special kitten - it was a miracle it was still alive.

It could only have got on the conveyor belt after being tipped from a mail sack, but how did it get in the sack? The most likely (and horrible) explanation, Ms Longman said, was that the kitten had been shoved through the slot in a street post box and fallen into the mailbag inside. When the collector came to empty the box, the kitten might have been buried under several hundred letters, dulling its cries. In the van, the mailbag could have had dozens of other sacks stacked on top of it. At the mail centre, the bag containing the kitten would have been part of a pile of mail weighing tonnes.

At its new home yesterday, the kitten showed no sign of injury from its ordeal.

"It just cried all night Monday and wouldn't let anyone near it," said Ms Longman.

The kitten purrs when it is cuddled but will hiss and run to a hiding place when too many people pay it attention. Ms Longman said the kitten was eating heartily and was alert and interested in whatever was going on in the house. The kitten's sex is as yet unknown but that has not stopped it being named.

"I'm calling it Letters, what else?" said Ms Longman.

Contacted today, Ms Longman said she had received dozens of calls about the kitten. Letters had passed a veterinarian's check, "The vet said she had a little conjunctivitis, cat flu and some worms, but is otherwise fine."

A New Zealand Post spokesman said he was surprised that even a tiny kitten could get into a mailbox because the slots were only 4cm high. There was no way of tracing where the kitten came from, he said. It could have been anywhere in the Auckland region. The company wasn't aware of an animal getting into a mailbag before.

First printed in the New Zealand Herald, November 2002.

Personal Notes

Since our last newsletter we have been to Canada and the UK on a very fast but very enjoyable trip.

In Canada we certainly saw some spectacular scenery but took the chance to remind other travellers that we have the same in NZ – it’s just in a smaller space. The Rocky Mountain Tour by coach and train was a really worthwhile venture and showed us a lot more interesting spots than we would have managed to get to by ourselves in the time we had - especially since we were in the midst of a heat wave.

The Commonwealth games in Manchester were even better than we had hoped for. We found that the City had been transformed and was a very friendly and interesting place and the transport to all stadia so easy to get. Although the rain for the closing Ceremony was relentless, it was quite a spectacle never the less and during the week we managed to see several of our NZ team members taking part and winning, a great feeling.

Since we returned we have been hard at work teaching and processing circuit boxes as well as selling all the orchid flowers. At least we have some good photos to remind us of the month away.

This year we are spending Christmas in Christchurch, but if members are visiting Auckland in January, call in!

Best Wishes Jan and Dave Jan and Dave Butcher Circuit Managers KSC