A Russian train attendant who threw a family’s beloved cat off a train in freezing temperatures and ultimately sent the animal to his death has been suspended from work.
“She is currently not working with passenger trains, temporarily for a period of review,” Ivan Kolesnikov, the deputy general director of Russian Railways, was quoted telling lawmakers on Tuesday.
He said an investigation is ongoing into the high-profile death of Twix the cat, which has sparked calls for criminal charges against the train worker. Twix, an orange and white tabby, was traveling with his owner by train to St. Petersburg last week when he somehow got out of his carrier and began scampering around the wagon. Although the cat had a ticket, and thus permission to be on the train, an attendant booted him off the train after claiming she thought he was a stray.
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Frantic search efforts ensued after the cat’s owner realized what had happened, but Twix was found dead on Jan. 20 not far from the spot where he’d been dumped in the Kirov region.
Volunteers who found him said he appeared to have been frozen and gnawed on by dogs.
The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered an investigation into Twix’s death on Monday.
“The pet was on the train legally: a baggage receipt was issued for the cat, and he was traveling in a carriage where the transport of animals is allowed,” the Investigative Committee said in a press release.
