British cat denied advent calendar due to lack of ID

LONDON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A delivery addressed to a cat in London caused problems when British postal staff initially declined to release a package to the animal without proper identification.

Twenty-seven-year-old Brittany Maher-Kirk told the story of mistaken identity in a Facebook post after attempting to retrieve an advent calendar addressed to her cat, Ted, from British Royal Mail.

"So my mum posted the cat an advent calendar. Unfortunately, we missed the delivery and the post office won't give it me as the cat does not have ID," she wrote. "I've got to ring up the Post Office Head Office and explain that my mother has sent the cat an advent calendar, addressed to the cat, and he can't pop in to pick it up himself or lend me his ID to do it for him..."

After arriving at the post office, Maher-Kirk was ultimately able to retrieve the package, addressed to "Ted Maher-Kirk Lindsay", but not before some lighthearted jokes from the postal staff.

"They were quite amused on the phone and said 'We are not actually obliged to give it to you. You could be anybody'," She told BBC News.