Cat lost 190 miles away turns up near home

Cat lost 190 miles away turns up near home

www.abcnews.go.com

After wandering away from her owners in Daytona Beach, Fla., Holly turned up in West Palm Beach, Fla., more than 60 days later.

A shy house cat who strayed from her family while they were on vacation in Florida traveled nearly 200 miles to reunite with her owners.

The weary 4-year-old feline, after running away from her family while they were on vacation in Daytona Beach, Fla., trekked through streets and yards along the eastern coast of Florida before turning up just a mile away from her owner’s house in West Palm Beach.

In November, Jacob and Bonnie Richter took their cat, Holly, with them on a road trip to the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, about 190 miles from their home in West Palm Beach.

But soon into the trip, Holly slipped away into the night after growing afraid of some fireworks being set off nearby.

The Richters spent days searching for the cat and getting in touch with local animal agencies. Eventually, they returned home, sad and without their pet.

And then, after more than 60 distraught but hopeful days, the family received a fateful phone call from Barb Mazzola, a neighbor in West Palm Beach, whose yard the emaciated cat wandered into last Saturday.

“She was so skinny, all bones and weak, and she could hardly walk,” Mazzola told ABC News.

Mazzola fed and cleaned up the lost kitty and took her to a veterinarian on Sunday, where the cat’s microchip was scanned and her owners located.

Bonnie received the shocking phone call Sunday afternoon and rushed to retrieve her lost pal.

"It was quite a journey for this little girl," Jacob told WPBF-TV, breaking into tears. "We just can't believe she came home."