Who is Twix the cat, and why did his story rock Russia?

The tragic story of Twix the cat is striking in its senseless cruelty. The animal, traveling on the train with an accompanying person on a specially purchased ticket, ended up on the street where it was 30 degrees below zero. Despite the efforts of hundreds of caring people, the cat died. This case has caused a serious stir, and it may change the rules for transporting pets in Russia.

Everyone learned about the terrible fate of Twix the cat on January 19, 2024. The story began to be published in the media and on telegram channels. The cat's owners, a married couple, moved from Bashkiria to the city of Tikhvin, Leningrad Region. They couldn’t take the cat with them, but they decided that her husband’s stepfather would bring him later.

The man, as expected, bought a ticket for the cat, put him in a carrier and boarded the Ekaterinburg-St. Petersburg train. On January 11, the attendant dozed off, and the cat got out of the carrier. He went for a walk around the carriage and disappeared. Waking up, the man began to look for his pet. Of course, he also turned to the conductor. She said that the cat wandered around the carriage and then jumped out into the street at some station.

But then another version appeared, told by passengers. When the conductor noticed the animal, she questioned the people in the carriage, but did not find the owner. Then the woman simply threw the cat onto the street during a stop in Kirov. There were three passengers with animals in the carriage, and it is unclear why the railway employee did not talk to each of them. Later, our surveillance video shows how the conductor throws Twix out of the carriage.

The air temperature at that time was -30 and time was not in favor of the unfortunate animal. Volunteers began searching for the cat; more than 300 people took part in the search. The owners of Twix also posted notices in Kirov about the missing cat, in which they promised the finder a reward of 30 thousand rubles.

The couple who lost their pet also contacted the police. But there they were refused to initiate a case, since they did not find any corpus delicti in the conductor’s actions. We also wrote a complaint to Russian Railways. But they replied that they were not responsible for hand luggage, classifying a living creature as luggage. The search continued and cats matching the description were periodically seen here and there. During the events, volunteers even managed to find homes for a stray cat that looked like Twix.

By the evening of January 19, the telegram channel dedicated to searches had more than 5 thousand subscribers. But on January 20 it became known that the cat had died. It was found in a ditch near a railroad crossing—the animal was frozen to death. After this sad news, the owners of Twix thanked everyone who participated in the search and announced the completion of the operation.

But the noise on social networks did not subside - users were discussing the death of the cat. Opinions were divided. Some demanded that the conductor be held accountable, while others accused the man transporting Twix of negligence. There were also calls for radical action, even physical violence against the perpetrator.

The Federal Passenger Company, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, conducted an internal investigation. It’s easy to guess that the employee’s actions were justified:

They tried to blame the man transporting the cat for the incident. In particular, they noted that he grabbed the animal only 10 hours after the cat was dropped off in Kirov. The transport police also believe that everything happened due to the carelessness of the escort.

But Russian Railways still apologized and expressed condolences to Twix’s owners. The company's office also said that it would review the rules for transporting pets. It is planned to prohibit railway workers from throwing animals out of carriages. If such passengers are found, the conductors will be obliged to hand them over to station workers. In the future, the animals will be transferred to animal protection organizations.

Unfortunately, cats most often become victims of cruelty from people. The story of the cat Kuzi, who was killed after prolonged abuse by his sadistic spouses, has not yet been forgotten.