Cat missing in Saskatchewan returned to Quebec family months later

They thought she was a goner, but a family's cat came back three months after going missing in Chaplin, Sask.

Ojistoh Horn and her family were traveling across the country from Quebec to British Columbia with their three pets in tow.

After a long day of driving, the family grew tired and decided to pull over at the next rest stop. At 4 a.m., they reached a gas station in Chaplin, Sask.

"Everything was deserted and this lonesome train goes by and there's mist in the air. It was quite spooky,"Horn said.

Their black cat named Cricket was startled. She jumped out of the vehicle and took off.

We cried because we lost our cat. We got up and talked about her and I even did a video, a eulogy when we left. We really never thought we would see her again.- Ojistoh Horn

Horn and her four children began to chase after their pet of eight years, but Horn's daughter tripped and face-planted onto the muddy ground.

After a change of clothes, they set off to find Cricket, using the flashlight on their cellphones.

"We searched and searched. We almost got her three times," Horn said. "We stayed until sunrise and I did look again through the trees, but she was nowhere."

Horn wrote a note and left it at the gas station. The family drove through the town but they couldn't see Cricket or anybody out in the early morning.

"We cried because we lost our cat. We got up and talked about her and I even did a video, a eulogy when we left. We really never thought we would see her again."

Note found in gas station

Shelby Hallborg, a former gas station attendant from Chaplin, remembers finding a note left on the desk at the gas station.

The note said a cat had run away while a family stopped for gas. It had a description of the cat, its collar informationand how to contact theowner.

Months passed by and the note disappeared, but Hallborg had notforgotten about the cat.

One day as Hallborg was sitting outside her house with her daughter, a cat walked up to her.

"I assumed it was Cricket because they said it was a black cat wearing a pink collar with little studs on it," Hallborg said.

"She was very friendly and looked pretty skinny. We brought her inside and she was so grateful."

They gave Cricket a bath, removing burrs and cleaning her fur. She stayed the night at Hallborg's house.

"My daughter took a liking to her and called her Pixie. That night she slept on my daughter's bed, slept right by her head and cuddled with her,"Hallborg said.

The next day, Hallborg handed Cricket over to the Moose Jaw Humane Society after noticing she had a microchip.

The Moose Jaw Humane Society scanned the chip and located Cricket's family.

"I got a call from the [Moose Jaw Humane Society] saying, 'We found your cat,'"Horn said.

Horn arranged aWestJetcargo flight to have Cricket sent to Quebec, but the cat had to be at the Regina airport by 4:15 a.m. CST.

Luckily, the Moose Jaw Humane Society found a volunteer willing to take Cricket to the airport.

The black cat arrived back in her family's arms last Friday.

"She recognized everyone. Everyone was super happy. She was purring and super content," Horn said.

"For her to survive in Saskatchewan for three months and show up at somebody's doorstep, it's amazing. She's back to being an indoor cat."

Reminder for pet owners

The Moose Jaw Humane Society saidCricket's story is alesson for pet owners.

"This story speaks to the importance [of] microchipping your pet. Thankfully for Cricket, her family had one implanted for her," the organization said in a Facebook post.

The Moose Jaw Humane Society also noted that contact information should always be updated with the microchip company.

"Without Cricket's owners' phone number this story would have had a much different ending."