Utah cat takes surprise trip to California in an Amazon box
Galena, a 6-year-old house cat from Utah, likes hiding and playing with cardboard.
Earlier this month, the combination of the two made for a stressful trip in an Amazon package, a feverish search, a California rescue and a tearful reunion.
Her family is still waiting to “reintroduce cardboard to her again,” owner Carrie Clark said Tuesday, because they don’t want to stress her out.
Clark got Galena as a kitten after her aunt rescued a pregnant feral cat. The American short hair with calico and Siamese colouring has been a constant companion and source of emotional support.
“I’ve been through a bunch of health things and she and I have gone through all of that together. And she just has this extra great part about her personality that’s very loving. And she can tell when you don’t feel well,” Clark said.
So when Galena disappeared on April 10, Clark was beside herself.
They searched the neighbourhood, put up flyers and posted notices on Facebook lost pet pages in Lehi, Utah.
Clark said she received a “text that changed my life” on April 17, saying that Galena’s microchip had been scanned, so Clark knew she had been found somewhere. Soon after, she got a call saying her cat was near Riverside, Calif., after being found in a box along with steel-toed boots that had been returned to an Amazon warehouse.
Clark’s husband had ordered several pairs of boots, kept one and returned the rest in a large box on April 10.
“We realized that our sweet kitty must have jumped into that box without us knowing,” she said.
Amazon employees knew just who to call when they found the feline — co-worker Brandy Hunter, who rescues cats, Clark said.
Hunter took the cat home and to the vet the next day, where the microchip was scanned.
Clark spoke with Hunter who “calmed me down and told me that my kitty was OK,” despite having spent six days in a cardboard box without food or water.
Since word got out, Clark has been sharing her cat’s story, with advice to microchip your pets and to doublecheck your Amazon boxes before returning them.