Pet cat lost in the outback ends in purr-fect reunion months later
A beloved pet cat who went missing in the South Australian outback while on a road trip with his owner has been miraculously returned to his family months later.
In June, Murry Rantall was travelling from Warnambook Victoria to Darwin in a caravan when he made a pit stop on the Stuart Hwy so his Burmese cat Raj could use the litter box.
Rantall went for a walk and came back assuming that his 14-year-old feline friend was still inside so he drove off.
It wasn't until 200km later, when he went to check on Raj, that he realised the cat was missing.
“I was just about bawling … I knew he was in trouble,” Rantall said.
Rantall who had recently lost his wife said that Raj was the only loved one he had left at home.
“We were sort of looking after each other more or less,” Rantall said.
He turned back to search for Raj, and even had his daughter, Katrina drive from Victoria to South Australia to help find the cat, but they had no luck.
The feline was lost but not fur-gotten as Rantall's children put up Facebook posts about Raj missing in the South Australian outback.
Two months later, the outback cat-astrophe ended with the purr-fect homecoming when Raj was found in Port Augusta, about 50km from where he ran away.
Raj was found in Milla Dey’s backyard on Thursday, August 8.
“I just saw that he was there and covered in prickles. We got him some food and water and he spent probably 15 to 20 minutes just eating,” Dey said.
He was taken to a local vet to scan his microchip, but the details were outdated.
Locals managed to track down Rantall's family on social media after seeing the Facebook posts about Raj, and they were reunited over the weekend.
Rantall said Raj had lost a lot of weight but was content to be back in his arms.
“We’ll feed him up, he’ll be all right,” Rantall said.
Port Augusta City Council animal control officer Kylie McKerlie said the reunion was thanks to the care and dedication of the local community.
“It’s just a really good town and a really good feeling for everyone,” she said.
Rantall also thanked everyone who helped saying, “it’s unbelievable, the help I’ve had.”
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