POTTSVILLE — After a harrowing journey of 1,000 miles, a wayward tabby cat has brought joy to workers at D.G. Yuengling & Sons brewery, a local family and, most particularly, a little boy for whom the light of Christmas burns brightly.
The wily feline, thought to have been about six weeks old, survived a week-long journey from Missouri to Pottsville in the rear of a tractor-trailer, arriving out of the blue at Yuengling’s Mill Creek brewery around Thanksgiving.
The plucky kitten’s heartwarming saga from homelessness to a new home with a Schuylkill County family has captured the spirit of the season of hope.
“It is definitely a feel-good story,” said Wendy Yuengling, chief administrative officer. “We’ve all received an early Christmas present.”
Chetty, an orange tabby, has found a new home with the Felty family in Valley View. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Chetty, named for the brewery’s iconic Lord Chesterfield Ale, has been adopted by the family of Jennifer Felty, a Yuengling accountant.
“She’s already taken over our home,” confided Felty, who lives in Valley View. “She sleeps on a comforter in our bedroom; she’s very special.”
An energetic orange tabby, Chetty has bonded with Felty’s grandson, 2-year-old Macklin Raho, to whom the cat is a Christmas present.
Watching the boy and his cat, both active youngsters, interact has been a source of pleasure, said Steve Felty, the boy’s grandfather.
A real survivor
Forklift operator Anthony Ryndock was unloading a tractor-trailer from a Yuengling distributor in Missouri when he heard what sounded like a faint meow coming from a pallet.
Investigating, he found a frail little orange kitten between two pallets at the front of the trailer.
Apparently, it had taken refuge in a pallet and went unnoticed as it was loaded on the truck at a Yuengling distributor in Missouri.
Checking the shipping log, Ryndock found the cat had been inside the trailer for six days as the truck passed through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio on the way to Pennsylvania.
“It’s amazing that it survived that long without food or water,” said Ryndock, 26, who’s worked at Yuengling for five years. “It’s a miracle, like something right out of a movie.”
Richard “Dick” Yuengling Jr., the brewery’s fifth-generation owner, took the cat to the brewery office and asked if anyone cared to adopt it.
Felty, who’s partial to dogs, admits she initially had reservations. She changed her mind, however, remembering that her three adult children were cat lovers.
“I knew one of them would take it,” she said. “Actually, there was a bit of a competition to get it.”
Workers at the brewery dubbed the cat “Mo,” for Missouri, but the Felty family changed its name to the more feminine-sounding Chetty.
Though a bundle of energy who’s looking more like a young cat than a kitten, Chetty has an appointment with a veterinarian after Christmas. It had been scheduled earlier, Felty said, but was rescheduled by the veterinarian.
Filling a void
The little bundle of fur couldn’t have arrived at the Felty household at a better time.
Steve and Jen Felty were feeling like empty nesters, they confided, after their youngest child, 22-year-old Bryce, moved out two weeks ago.
“Then, we got this kitten, and it filled a void,” Jen said. “It brought life back into the house.”
2-year-old Macklin Raho and mom, Alyssa, play with Chetty, a wayward cat that has brought cheer to the family at Christmastime. RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO
Chetty’s stay will be short-lived, however. She’ll go with Felty’s daughter, Alyssa, Macklin’s mom, when she moves into a new house in January.
The newest member of Alyssa’s menagerie, Chetty will take her place alongside a dog, a chinchilla and a bunny.
For Wendy Yuengling, the entire episode was a reaffirmation of the cohesion among the brewery’s workforce.
“We’re very proud of being a family-oriented company,” said Yuengling, who with her three sisters comprises the sixth generation of the 195-year-old brewery. “We’re proud of the way our employees helped find a home for this wayward cat.”