It’s no wonder that cats have gained a reputation for having nine lives. Hardy felines seem to survive the most dire circumstances with nary a scratch.
Over on Reddit, a GIF circulated for some time of a kitty clinging to the side of a multi-story building. When it lost its grip on the concrete, it fell, plummeting toward the street below — and then it leaped up seemingly unscathed and sprinted away.
The survival of a certain cat from Montecito, California, seems no less miraculous. According to KEYT, the Strogoff family had fled their home in early 2018 when the Montecito mudslides virtually obliterated the town.
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Realizing that a deadly storm was closing in, they’d bundled 10-year-old Alexander and 7-year-old twins Benjamin and Violet into the car. But they hadn’t had time to chase down their two cats, Diamond and Huguette.
Watch: California family’s lost cat found after more than a year https://t.co/9HbD8RYv93
— Odd News from @UPI (@OddNewsUPI) May 1, 2019
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Time recounted the apocalyptic aftermath of the disaster. Cars lay battered and broken, swept downhill by flash floods and walls of mud and debris.
Homes were destroyed. And at least 17 people perished.
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The Strogoffs assumed the disaster also claimed the lives of Diamond and Huguette. When they returned to survey the damage, their kitties weren’t anywhere to be found.
“I had no idea that what happened was going to happen and assumed they would be fine,” Noelle Strogoff explained. “When we got back, we couldn’t find them.”
The Strogoff’s home suffered lots of damage. In fact, they had to move out for a full year.
When they returned home, they hoped against hope that their cats might also have come back. Sadly, they found no sign of them.
However, the Daily Mail reported that everything changed when Noelle spoke with a worker she’d hired to do some remodeling. She explained what had happened to her missing felines.
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That was when the worker dropped a bombshell: He’d been feeding a cat who’d come onto the property — and it looked a lot like her missing Diamond.
Indeed, the cat in question was actually Diamond. “Twenty minutes later, I’m following him to his home and there’s Diamond totally fine,” Noelle said.
An astonishing 475 days had passed. Somehow the cat had both made it through the mudslides and survived on its own for almost a year and a half.
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The Strogoff children were overjoyed, and little Violet said, “Mommy, you made me so happy. … I love Diamond!”
Noelle hopes that the story inspires others, saying, “Don’t give up. Keep looking. Just keep talking to people and expressing what it is you are looking for.”
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