Casper The Commuting Cat: The True Story Of The Cat Who Rode The Bus And Stole Our Hearts

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: