'Christmas miracle cat,' missing for over 5 months, is reunited with the family that never forgot her
Cat escaped from car at rest stop — here's how she survived for so long and how she was found
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A cat that was missing for more than five months has been reunited with her family in what a local animal control group is calling a "Christmas miracle."
Herwig Goldemund and his wife Susan were in the process of moving from Georgia to Vermont this past July. On the drive north, they stopped for a nap at a rest stop in Middletown, Connecticut, on Interstate 91.
They opened their window just a little, they said, for some air.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When the couple awoke, their cat Minka was nowhere to be found.
She'd escaped through the window, leaving "little paw prints" on the car, the couple said. They searched for hours to no avail — and eventually continued on their journey to Vermont.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Minka, pictured here, lived for nearly six months near a rest area in Middletown, Connecticut, according to authorities. Now, in a "Christmas miracle," she's been reunited with her family from Vermont. (Fox 61)
"We were really heartbroken that the cat was gone and we did not think that we’d ever see her again," Goldemund told Fox 61 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Just before Christmas, however, Minka was found.
It was "truly amazing" the cat had survived this long, said Cortney Madore, who spotted the animal more than once on the highway.
Cortney Madore, the woman who spotted Minka and reported her to animal control, told Fox 61 that it was "truly amazing" the cat had survived this long.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Madore said she decided to call "everybody that I could think of" after she spotted Minka twice in one day — putting the wheels in motion for catching the cat.
"Get your tissues ready," wrote the Middletown, Connecticut, Animal Control in a Dec. 20 post on its Facebook page.
Minka's owners are delighted their cat is now safely home with them again. (Fox 61)
"Many of you may remember our post about Minka, a cat that went missing at the I91 rest stop back in July," said the post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Well, last week after our first real snow, we got a call about a black cat in the median of I91 near the rest stop," wrote Middletown Animal Control.
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"We went out there and sure enough, there she was."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After Minka initially ran away from animal control officers, the Middletown Animal Control "set multiple humane traps with all sorts of tuna and sardines."
Minka "left little paw prints" on the car when she escaped in July at a Connecticut rest stop. Her owners were devastated. (Fox 61)
On Dec. 19, Middletown Animal Control found Minka in the trap, and a scan of her microchip confirmed that she was indeed the formerly missing Minka.
"She was dirty, skinny and covered in ticks, but otherwise OK," said the post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Her mom and dad were ecstatic and amazed."
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Minka's owner, Susan Goldemund, drove four hours from her home in Vermont to be reunited with her kitty.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Minka immediately recognized her owner — who never got rid of any of her cat toys just in case her pet was found. (Fox 61)
"The reunion was so sweet," said the Facebook post.
"Minka knew her mom instantly and put her head right in her hand. Susan never thought this day would come, but she never stopped hoping anyway."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"She still has all of Minka's things because she couldn't bear to get rid of them," said Middletown Animal Control.
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"We are all so happy that Minka got her Christmas wish!"