PENDLETON, Ore. — A man has been reunited with his cat more than two months after she slipped out of his car at an eastern Oregon rest area.
Antonio Martinez stopped at the Deadman Pass rest area 18 miles east of Pendleton during his move from Texas to Beaverton, the East Oregonian reported.
He said that’s when his 4-year-old tabby cat Korra slipped out. He and his father searched the rest area but finally had to leave. Martinez posted details about Korra’s escape on the Eastern Oregon Pet Lovers Facebook page and contacted PAWS, a Pendleton animal shelter, to leave information. He moved in to his new Beaverton home.
As the weeks wore on, Martinez missed his feisty cat.
“I started to lose a bit of hope, especially with the colder months coming up,” Martinez said.
Last week, a motorist headed home to Aberdeen, Washington, stopped at the rest area and spotted Korra. Robert Holt says he used an old ham sandwich to lure the feline into his car with his wife and four children.
“Once inside the car, the cat was purring and happy,” Holt said.
Holt’s wife made calls until reaching an animal rescue person who took Korra home overnight and then to the Pendleton shelter.
After checking her microchip, Martinez and Korra were reunited in outside a pet store in Clackamas.
“I was worried she might not recognize me,” he said, “but as soon as she sniffed my hand, she immediately started purring.”
Korra has since settled in to Martinez’s new home in Beaverton, where she is recovering.
“She was skin and bones,” Martinez said. “She is gaining it back slowly and seems pretty hungry.”
