Ray Ray the cat in Times Square. Photo / Margaret Denardo via The Washington Post
Tony Denardo plans to run a marathon in every American state - which is why his family set out on a road trip to Keene, New Hampshire, late last month.
The Denardos brought their youngest child and three of her friends with them and decided to continue on to New York City after the race.
They left their home in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, early in the morning on September 26, and drove east, stopping for petrol and a bathroom break after about 100 miles (160km).
Tony got out of the van, and when he looked up, he saw the family’s 8-year-old cat, Ray Ray, perched on top of the roof.
Laughing and completely floored, Tony called to his wife, Margaret, to come and see for herself.
“All these things are going through my head.
“The roads that we’ve travelled on, the semitrucks that we’ve passed, the hills, the stop signs, everything. How did this cat stay on there?” Margaret said.
“And he was completely unfazed. He’s stretching like he just got up from a nap.”
Their daughter Sophia, 16, was in the back seat.
“I had been sleeping, so I was groggy,” Sophia said. “I heard my mum yell and I looked over and she had the cat in her arms. And I was like, am I imagining this?”
At first, the family was panicked. What if Ray Ray had fallen off?
The family had luggage strapped to the roof of the van, and their theory is that the cat must have lodged himself next to it somehow.
“There were some claw marks,” Margaret said, where she thinks Ray Ray must have been holding on.
“I assume he somehow burrowed his way, maybe underneath it or even around those straps, to stay put where he was.”
She also thinks Ray Ray must have been hunkered down, because no one on the interstate honked or indicated to them anything was amiss, like that their cat was on their roof holding on for dear life.
Margaret grabbed the cat and brought him into the car while the couple discussed what to do.
Apart from vet trips and short rides around town, Ray Ray had never left their small farm before.
They had someone coming to take care of Ray Ray and their other animals - including sheep, a pig and a couple of dogs - later that morning.
At that point, they decided they were too far from home to turn around and take Ray Ray home.
The family found a Petco and stocked up on the supplies Ray Ray would need for a week away, including a harness, leash and a cat backpack so they could easily take him along while sightseeing.
Ray Ray seemed to adjust quickly to being a travelling cat, hopping in and out of the backpack and walking on a leash around tourist attractions in New England and New York.
He even crossed the finish line of the marathon in Tony’s arms. The story was first reported by a local Pennsylvania publication, the Leader Times.
Margaret is a photographer, and she started documenting Ray Ray’s adventures on her Instagram.
“He seemed to really like Times Square at night. I don’t know if it was the lights and all the movement, but he sat there with his little paws curled in and just watched everything,” Margaret said.
This isn’t Ray Ray’s first daring escapade - though it is his longest.
He has always loved cars, and the Denardo family first found him as a stray kitten under the same van. Once he secretly stowed away with Margaret’s parents for a trip to the car wash - thankfully inside the car that time.
Ray Ray’s car caper has inspired Margaret to write a children’s book about the trip.
She plans to bring Ray Ray along the next time she travels and hopefully write about that too.
“He’s always been extremely friendly,” Margaret said, explaining he was happy to accept pets and belly rubs from strangers on the trip. “He just wants love.”
And, apparently, a little adventure.
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