Lost cat ‘Freddie Mercury’ found safe, 250 miles from New York home

ITHACA, N.Y. — It was the ultimate Saturday of winter, however the air was heat when Rachel O’Brien headed out for a late afternoon stroll round Ithaca with Freddie Mercury, her 4-month-old kitten.

Freddie was black, with a brownish sheen, and tiny, about 5 kilos. He got here with the identify, given by the Pennsylvania animal shelter workers in honor of the late lead singer of British rock band Queen.

And O’Brien, 20, got here with a Freddie Mercury tattoo. It was the primary tattoo she obtained, as quickly as she was sufficiently old to take action.

“That’s my cat,” O’Brien recalled of the second she noticed Freddie on-line.

Whereas Freddie had largely been an indoor cat, he had gone on occasional walks with O’Brien, secured in a tiny cat harness.

He had been somewhat nervous that day, O’Brien recalled, however he by no means tried to get away so she wasn’t apprehensive as they headed out close to a neighborhood playground on March 19.

Not far into their stroll, Freddie was startled by an individual strolling by and “began freaking out,” she stated. Immediately, Freddie flipped out of his harness and dashed away.

Trying to find Freddie

O’Brien spent the following days scouring the world for Freddie and placing up flyers along with his photograph. She posted on social media and set out a cat lure {that a} neighbor lent her.

“I simply spent like each waking second just about looking for him,” O’Brien stated. “It is horrible. It is what everyone goes by when their pet is lacking.”

Days handed and O’Brien was overwhelmed with ideas of Freddie, so small and helpless. He is her child, she stated, and he was gone.

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Lastly, on March 25 round 10 p.m., O’Brien’s cellphone rang. 

It had been 6 days since she had seen Freddie and his return appeared extra unlikely every day. She additionally did not acknowledge the quantity and thought it is likely to be spam or a well-meaning one who thought they discovered Freddie.

On the opposite finish was somewhat boy. “I discovered your cat,” he stated, including that O’Brien’s quantity was on the collar.

He described Freddie completely, O’Brien stated, and when the younger boy tried to pronounce the identify inscribed on the kitten’s collar “he had no thought who that was.” 

“Freddy Murky?” he stated.

O’Brien requested for the handle, prepared to select Freddie up that evening. When the household informed her, she thought it odd that she did not acknowledge the road identify. She’d lived in Ithaca her complete life, and by no means heard of the road they informed her.

She typed the handle in Google Maps and was shocked by the placement: Freddie was in West Berlin, New Jersey. Virtually 250 miles away. 

Freddie’s ‘miraculous’ returns dwelling

The subsequent morning, O’Brien and her mom made the 4-hour drive from Ithaca.

The household informed O’Brien that Freddie had merely walked as much as their dwelling to play with their cats and youngsters.

They fed him and stored him safely inside till O’Brien may get there. 

“It got here right down to the kindness of this random household,” O’Brien stated. “Not everybody would try this.”

O’Brien stated Freddie misplaced somewhat little bit of weight on his journey – however he did not have any cuts, scratches or indicators of trauma.

Freddie slept in O’Brien’s lap in the course of the lengthy drive dwelling, waking solely to eat items of deli turkey hand-fed to him.

He is been as comfortable as ever since his return, O’Brien stated, simply extra vocal. “Now he yells lots,” she stated.

O’Brien added that Freddie will now be strictly an indoor cat. 

“The chance that something this miraculous is ever going to occur once more, I am not gonna get this fortunate,” O’Brien stated. “I am not going to threat it. I will hold his little booty inside.”

Comply with Kate Collins on Twitter: @kcollins213.