Ruben the wandering cat is very likely to have followed you home if you live in Exeter.
Ruben has traveled extensively since 2016. (to over 25 different addresses in fact). He’s ended up at Torquay Police Station, slept in someone else’s bed, and even goes to the local primary school on a daily basis.
While it’s always frightening when your pet goes missing, “Ruben’s people”, as they’re known, are unconcerned because the little black cat enjoys going on adventures while leaving his younger brother Bryan at home.
Ruben now has his own Facebook profile with supporters from all around the United States because it has become such a common occurrence.
As his owners have described, the cat from St Leonards Road in Exeter has become a celebrity in his own way.
Ruben had been with Charlotte and Jon Brammer since he was eight weeks old, and up until the age of five, he didn’t wander far from home, but one fateful day, he got itchy feet and chose to embark on his first excursion.
“He just started walking off when he was five years old, and now he does it on a daily basis,” Charlotte explained.
“He has only gone away for three months at a time.”
Jon continued, ” “We initially felt compelled to explain to others that we do not mistreat Ruben and that he is fed.
“He was a lap cat for the first five years, never leaving the house and always sleeping on someone’s lap or on his favorite sofa, until one night he simply vanished and reappeared after a few days.
“At first, we didn’t think much of it, but as the days became longer, Charlotte requested me to draw a poster for him because he’d been gone for a week or two.”
Charlotte went on to claim that when Ruben first went missing, the couple was understandably concerned because they were unaware of their cat’s exploits at the time.
“The first time it happened, we were really anxious, and we would go on to the Exeter lost pets page, which is a major local Facebook page for lost animals, and he ended up at a school,” she added.
“The school’s receptionist called us through the page because I believe Ruben would run into the school when the cleaner came in in the morning,” Jon explained.
Charlotte and Jon soon realized that Ruben’s first adventure away from home was only the beginning.
“We would have lost Ruben a long time ago if he hadn’t been chipped,” Jon remarked.
“I believe many people mistake him for a stray cat since he refuses to wear a collar.”
Ruben’s most distant journey was to Torquay Police Station, but how did he get there?
“He went to the children’s home on Topsham Road, and we told them to keep him there for the time being because he was happy and would have strayed off if we took him back,” Charlotte explained.
“He was there for two weeks and then they messaged us to say Ruben had gone off again, and we hadn’t heard anything for another two to three weeks, and by then I was becoming worried because we had his Facebook page at the time, so if anybody had seen him, they would have contacted us.”
After seeing a crime being committed on Larkbeare Road, things took an unexpected turn for the cat.
“He had gone down the road from the children’s home, and at the time a crime had been committed,” Jon explained.
“A man was caught, and Ruben happened to be nearby, so the cops took him to the Torquay police station.”
After Ruben went on his wild escapades, the pair decided to create his own Facebook page so that others could contact him if he was noticed.
“How the page came about was because he was traveling away so often it was awkward,” Jon explained.
“We urged people from the lost pet’s Facebook page to like his page, which started with approximately 50 followers and has already grown to nearly 1,500.”
“However, his page is fantastic because people would post images of him if he goes missing; I’m curious as to what he does on his excursions.”
“We frequently see images of him at various people’s homes.”
Ruben is a ninja who enters people’s homes through windows or cat flats.
He’s even gotten through a locked cat flap and wound up on someone else’s bed before.
