Despite their reputation for being aloof and self-involved, cats are considered important and beloved companions for millions of people.
However, because they’re known to do whatever they want, it’s sadly not uncommon for them to suddenly go missing after chasing one of their whims too far.
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At the same time, they’ll also give us reasons not to abandon hope and consider them lost forever, as it’s not unheard of for them to come back just as abruptly as they left.
Of course, that’s a lot harder to do when that cat is lost for so long that their owner’s had time to move over halfway across the country. But as one recent story illustrates, “hard” is not the same thing as “impossible.”
When they adopted her in Riverside, California, Joe and Leanna Drnec were told their short-haired cat Ebi was an indoor cat.
But according to People , that didn’t turn out to be entirely true as Ebi became increasingly interested in spending time outside and started raising a ruckus at the door.
Unfortunately, her sense of adventure would get her into trouble as she wandered off in 2015 and never returned in time to catch her owners before they moved to Bearden, Tennessee later that year.
But in the seven years since, Ebi apparently didn’t stray too far from her home as someone discovered her wandering in downtown Riverside.
She was then brought to Riverside County Animal Services, where staff were able to identify her owners thanks to her microchip and reached out to them.
In Mr. Drnec’s words, “We never thought we would ever see her again. This is really an amazing story.”
However, it wouldn’t be so easy to reunite the Drnecs with Ebi, as the shelter wasn’t allowed to use taxpayer funds for initiatives involving personal pets.
Nevertheless, the organization’s chief John Welsh decided to take the 2,000-mile trip himself at his own expense.
In his words, “It took us some time to figure out what we’re going to do, how to get this cat back to Knoxville. The logistics were basically me asking my wife, ‘Can I do this?'”
And as we can see, the shelter documented each leg of the trip through their Facebook page.
And despite the cost and hassle that went into the voyage, it was worth it for Welsh to ensure the Drnecs could be with their beloved cat again.
As he put it, “We like getting animals back to their rightful owners even if they tend to be half the country away or to be more than half the country away, so it’s just fun.”
h/t: People
