Thank goodness cats have nine lives.
A clever kitty named Minka hopped out of her family’s car in July when Herwig Goldemund and his wife, Susan, were relocating from Georgia to Vermont.
The couple took a nap at a rest stop off Interstate 91 in Connecticut — and the escape artist disappeared out the open window, leaving only “little paw prints” behind.
Despite hours of searching, the despondent pet owners couldn’t locate their beloved feline and eventually continued on with their move.
“We were really heartbroken that the cat was gone, and we did not think that we’d ever see her again,” Goldemund told local news outlet Fox 61 in Connecticut.
Minka was miraculously found just in time for Christmas.
Last week, after Middletown, Conn., got its “first real snow,” Animal Control received a phone call from Cortney Madore. She spotted Minka twice in one day and decided to call “everybody that I could think of” in an effort to catch the cat.
“Get your tissues ready,” Middletown Animal Control wrote on its Facebook page. “Many of you may remember our post about Minka, a cat that went missing at the I-91 rest stop back in July.”
Well, Minka had found her way back to the rest stop. Animal Control was alerted that the black kitty was spotted in the median.
“We went out there, and sure enough, there she was,” the post continued.
After the spooked cat ran away from officers, Animal Control placed multiple “humane traps with all sorts of tuna and sardines.” On Dec. 19, the bait lured Minka to Animal Control, and her identity was confirmed with a simple scan of her microchip.
“She was dirty, skinny and covered in ticks, but otherwise OK,” continued the post. “Her mom and dad were ecstatic and amazed.”
Susan drove four hours from her new home in Vermont to pick up her beloved kitty, a reunion Animal Control called “so sweet.”
“Minka knew her mom instantly, and put her head right in her hand. Susan never thought this day would come, but she never stopped hoping anyway,” the post read. “She still has all of Minka’s things because she couldn’t bear to get rid of them.”
Madore, who found Minka, said it was “truly amazing” the cat had survived as long as she did — absolutely a holiday miracle.
“We are all so happy that Minka got her Christmas wish!” Animal Control stated.
