Hope springs eternal as cat reunited with owners after missing for 7 years

A mystery has come toa happy ending: a 13-year-old cat that went missing seven years agowas recentlyreunited with its owners.

Under the cover of darkness,Maddy the calico cat had slipped out of her owners' home in Whitecourt, Alta., during Christmastime in 2015.But last month, she was found in Edmonton.

"We obviously assumed the worst happened," said Justin House, one of Maddy's owners.

At the time, the cat's disappearance was a shock for the family. They tried whatever they could tofind their pet, including searching high and low and leaving treats outside.

Eventually, the family resigned themselves to believing Maddy had died.

But in early September, Edmonton resident Amanda Georgenoticed the cat darting around the neighbourhood. Shewas immediatelysmitten.

LISTEN | HowMaddy the cat wasreunited with her owners:

"She's a strong cat," Georgesaid.

"She's so beautiful.Itried to gain her trust by just slowly feeding her and I knew I had to try and get her help before winter."

George took Maddy into her care. Eventually, she noticed a tattoo thatindicated one way to find out where the cat came from.

This led to George making a Facebook post,asking for help to track down the cat's owners.

People who saw the post recommended George contact a veterinarian's office in Whitecourt.

She did so, and the vet was able to connect George withthe House family.

"We're so mind blown," House said. "I thinkwe're still kind ofin shock."

The mystery that still remains, however, is how the cat wound up in Edmonton, becauseWhitecourtis about 160 kilometres northwest of the city.

But George and House have a hypothesis: the cat hitched a ride.

"It was in the winter when she went missing, so maybe she crawled in under a truck for some warmth," House said.

George suggests someone may have picked the cat up intending to bring it to a vet, but they didn't find Maddy's tattoo.

"She just traveled a little too far for sure," George said.

'Don't give up hope'

Of the6,000 lost pets found byCity of Edmonton staff, 4,000 of them are cats, saidTracy Bauder, the city's animal care coordinator.

Pet reunificationis fairly common, though,Bauder said, because most ownershave amicrochiplicense, keep contact information up to date, or ensure their pet has some form of identificationlike a tattoo.

"Our staff work really hard to locate those owners and make arrangements for them to come in and claim their pet," Bauder said.

"If they've been lost for a number of yearswhichhappens oftenpet owners are elated that we've found their cat."

Maddy's tenacity, House said, should serveas a good reminder of why it is important to stay hopeful.

"You never expect it to happen to you. But honestly, don't give up hope."