SAN BERNARDINO, California: They say curiosity kills the cat. But one particularly inquisitive feline has survived 18 days without food or water after sticking its nose where it didn't really belong.

Three-year-old calico cat 'Spice' survived a grueling 18-day trip across the Pacific inside a 20-foot Matson storage container. The container travelled via ship from Waikoloa Village, Hawaii to San Bernardino, California.

According to the Daily Bulletin, Pamela Escamilla (Spice's owner) and her family were packing their belongings as they prepared to move to sunny California. Escamilla noticed that Spice was missing but thought that the cat may have just wandered off outdoors - typical Spice.

The original plan was to leave Spice with friends in Hawaii, so when departure time came and Spice was still nowhere to be found, Pamela asked a neighbor to watch out for the missing feline and to call her when the cat made her way back home.

Spice never showed. Instead, the curious calico was locked inside a pitch-black shipping container without food or water.

Upon realizing the fate of their feline pet, the Escamillas tried calling Matson, but to no avail - the company couldn't do anything as the cargo was already at sea. And so the Escamilla family waited, hoped and braced themselves for the worst.

The container carrying the Escamilla family's belongings arrived in Long Beach, California on a Friday. On Monday, the first of the two containers were delivered but there was no sign of Spice. The second container arrived on Tuesday morning. When the door was opened, they noticed that there was no smell, no indication of a trapped or deceased animal. Then Pamela spotted tufts of cat fur and the frantic owner started searching the container. Finally, Spice poked her head out from behind a bicycle.

Spice was rushed to the veterinarian. Despite having to withstand extremely high temperatures inside the container and having no food or water, the feline's prognosis is good.

"(The vet) said, 'That's a calico for you. They have a survival instinct.'" Pamela told the Daily Bulletin.

Spice's 'breed' - calico - isn't actually a cat breed at all. According to pets.families.com, calico actually refers to the color pattern of a feline's fur. A calico cat has to have three colors in separate patches (not blended) in their fur. The majority of calico cats are females. Calico cats are hard to breed, so having one is considered lucky.

And for this former Humane Society orphan kitten, lucky is an understatement. Spice's kidney had shrunk from lack of water and her bowels were backed up. But being the survivor that she is, Spice managed to get down some food and water during her much-needed trip to the veterinarian.

On vet's orders Spice is now on a special diet of chicken broth and bone marrow soup to restore her health. "She's going to be so spoiled," Pamela said.

Spice's adventure shows how extremely resilient felines can be. Earlier this year, a cat named China spent 35 days locked in a shipping container without food or water. Much like Spice, China was said to have accidentally wandered off to a cardboard box and was then trapped while the box was loaded to the shipping container.

China miraculously survived the harrowing incident. Also early this year, another adventurous feline flew more than 870 miles while hidden in her owner's luggage. Ginger spent almost four hours inside a suitcase before being discovered by her unsuspecting owner.

Ed Gardner, Pamela's father, said "It was a happy ending. We recommend the Matson containers."