A family separated from their beloved cat, Holly, while on vacation was treated to a joyous reunion a few weeks ago when Holly came traipsing back into Jacob and Bonnie Richter’s lives. The cute tortoiseshell cat walked 190 miles to get back to her owners, eventually collapsing in a backyard a mile from her home, assumedly from hunger and exhaustion. She was found by a neighbor, who eventually reunited the cat with her rightful owners.
The story goes like this. The Richter family was on a road trip to the speedway in Daytona, Florida in early November when their beloved cat disappeared. They searched for her but didn’t find her so eventually the couple were forced to return to their West Palm Beach, Florida home without their pet. Two months later, Holly showed up in town in a woman named Barbara's backyard, emaciated and with bleeding feet and worn down claws. According to the ABC News, the cat was identified by a chip implanted inside her.
Apparently, in many cases when this happens, people in the field often suspect a cat of similar ilk has been found and not the original pet. The case is less rare in dogs, who have been known to travel vast distances in order to return home, although these stories are also rare. Luckily enough, however, the Richter’s had implanted their cat with the aforementioned microchip that allowed them to identify the cat properly. The tortoiseshell is most certainly Holly, and like the loveable animals in Homeward Bound, not even rain or starvation could keep her from finding her home.
