Nala (cat)
Nala was a ginger tabby cat from Stevenage, England. She was born around 2019 and died in December 2025, at about five or six years old. She lived near Stevenage railway station with her owners, Natasha Ambler and Lewis Ames, and was adopted from the RSPCA. She had a brother named Simba and was named after The Lion King.
Nala became famous for sitting on the ticket barriers at Stevenage station. Commuters and visitors would pet her and take photos. Her online fame grew in October 2023 after her owner started a Facebook page called The Adventures of Nala, where people shared hundreds of pictures.
She liked to roam around Stevenage and could be seen at the station in the mornings and evenings. After she was first allowed outdoors, she was hit by a car, which her owners say made her more careful about roads. A GPS tag on her collar tracked her movements; in one week she covered about 35 miles around Stevenage, including the station and a nearby park, and once stayed most of the night in a cinema.
Because many people thought she was lost, her owners added a second collar tag to show she wasn’t missing and liked to roam.
Nala’s fame reached national media. BBC News, Sky News, and ITV’s Lorraine called her the unofficial ticket officer of Stevenage. The station manager said she helped people smile and start cheerful conversations.
Her popularity extended beyond the station: she had a TikTok and Instagram presence with many followers and even released a Christmas single called Check Meowt in November 2023. She also appeared in a children’s book about her adventures in Stevenage and was mentioned in a ship’s Pets Corner photo in 2024.
After she died, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise money for a commemorative statue at the station.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:34 (CET).