Cat returns home after roaming around Peterhead prison and hitching ride to North Sea oil rig

An adventurous cat has finally returned home to his owner after five years of adventures, including roaming around a prison, hitching a ride to an oil rig and a trip on a helicopter.

The curious male feline, who had been nicknamed ‘One-eyed Joe’, had been living as a stray around Peterhead prison in Aberdeenshire for five years.

Fed by staff, he suddenly went missing and turned up on a North Sea oil rig after making his way into a shipping container that came from Peterhead.

Bemused workers on the rig contacted the Scottish SPCA on April 21, who collected the cat the following day with a personal helicopter ride back to shore.

Upon their return to the mainland, the animal charity scanned his microchip to discover he was in fact named Dexter and had been missing for five years.

Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Aimee Findlay said: “We were alerted yesterday to an incident of a cat being found in a shipping container offshore.

“We’ve no idea how the cat ended up there, but attended the heliport this morning to collect him.

“The cat had been nicknamed ‘One-eyed Joe’ by the prison who had been feeding him for five years, but after checking him for a microchip it turns out his real name is Dexter and he has been missing for five years!

“We are so glad that he was well looked after for the time he was missing, but were even more delighted to be able to reunite him with his original owner thanks to his microchip being up to date.

”If anyone finds an injured animal, or an animal in distress, please don’t hesitate to contact our animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”