Holly is a lucky kitty indeed!
Last November, Jacob and Bonnie Richter took their cat Holly on vacation with them. They traveled in their motor home from West Palm Beach to Daytona, Florida. Holly, a four year old tortoiseshell, was doing pretty well until someone set off fireworks too close to the Richters' motor home. Holly shot out the open door and was gone in a flash.
The Richters stayed in the area for days, passing out flyers and talking to the local authorities. Heartbroken, they eventually had to return home without Holly.
Two months later, one of the Richters' neighbors noticed an emaciated cat staggering through her yard. Barb Mazolla, obviously an animal lover herself, scooped up the cat and took her to the vet for care. The cat, who was so weak that she couldn't even meow, was lucky enough to be microchipped. The cat may not have been able to meow, but her microchip did the talking for her: it was Holly, who had walked nearly 200 miles home.
Holly's amazing journey must have been a difficult one. West Palm Beach lies directly south of Daytona along the coast. Holly's trip would have taken her alongside Interstate 95, one of the busiest and most dangerous stretches of highway in the country. (In 2010, "the Florida section of I-95 had the most fatalities of any U.S. interstate.")
Holly also had to traverse several stretches of wilderness, including the Brevard County Game Refuge and the St. Johns National Wildlife Refuge. Both of which abound in snakes, alligators, and wild hogs, any one of which would have cheerfully snack on a kitty. Holly's journey also required her to safely cross several busy east-west roads, including highway 528, the 520, 404, 500, and more.
It's no wonder Holly was so thin by the time she made it home. That is one lucky cat!
Holly joins the ranks of other long-distance travelers who have broken the record books and strained credulity with their amazing journeys home. Like Skittles, a cat who was lost in 2008 in Wisconsin and showed up 140 days later at his home in Minnesota, 350 miles away. Or Horace, a cat who was lost for 18 days before showing up back at home on two broken legs.
Of course, Holly might never have made it home if she hadn't been microchipped. Her owners had not set up any kind of search near their home, and two months later had long since given her up as gone forever. Just one more reason to microchip your kitties!