Troy cat trucks¹ across 48 states
By Heidi Desch, Western News Intern
He¹s seen all of the lower 48 states from the passenger¹s side of a semi truck; however, he slept through most of it.
Chris Penner of Troy owns Biscuit, a three-year-old cat that recently scratched off the final state he had left to see out of the lower 48.
Penner has logged over a million miles on the road and after rescuing Biscuit as a kitten, the last three years have been with his cat riding at his side.
The truck driver, who has five other cats, was looking for a pet to take on the road when Biscuit came along.
³Winter was coming and so I decided he would be a truck cat,² said the 51-year-old.
In the beginning there was some concern over how well Biscuit would travel for three to five weeks at a time in the truck.
Biscuit has been monitored by Penner¹s veterinarian and appears to be handling travel well.
³If he was unhappy he wouldn¹t have the shine in his coat that he does,² Penner said.
Biscuit¹s happiness also shows in his actions. The black and white cat comes instantly when Penner calls and says it¹s time to head out to the truck.
³If I don¹t watch him while I¹m loading the truck to leave, he¹ll bolt and head right for the truck,² Penner said.
Biscuit has free range of the truck cab, which includes a litter box, food, a bed and toys.
Penner said the cat spends most of his time on the road sleeping with all four white paws in the air in the passenger¹s window, but once in a while Penner will find himself receiving a toy to the head.
The pair seem very close and Biscuit provides good company while on the road. He also provides humor.
Biscuit has learned how to honk the horn on the truck and seems to do so to receive attention or to cause trouble.
Penner describes a time when his truck was being worked on and he forgot to warn the mechanic about the mischievous cat.
³I watched him wait until the mechanic was under the engine and then he stepped right on the horn button,² Penner said. ³The mechanic came out with a bloody head and he was pretty mad.²
Biscuit has played the trick many times, but overall he is well trained.
After Biscuit accidentally got out of the truck alone once, Penner trained him to wait to be carried away from the truck before getting to the ground.
³I¹m the only one who can get him out of the truck,² he said. ³My wife tried to coax him out of the truck the other day and he wouldn¹t move.²
Penner has also trained Biscuit to use a leash. About once a week, he takes Biscuit out of the truck to walk.
³That always draws a crowd,² Penner said.
Other drivers are curious about Biscuit especially when they see him sleeping in the window.
For the most part the response has been positive, but Penner did have one incident in Ohio while going through a tollbooth.
³The operator wouldn¹t let me through and threatened to call the SPCA because she said it was cruel to keep an animal in a truck,² he said. ³I told her to call the vet and see what he says. She said I don¹t have time for that and let me through.²
Penner has taken precautions to ensure that Biscuit is well taken care of and safe. He won¹t drive his truck into Canada so that Biscuit won¹t have to be quarantined and he only allows the cat to drink bottled water.
³He¹s pretty spoiled,² Penner said. ³He¹s my little buddy.²