http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/26/off....ap/index.html
MIDDLETOWN, Rhode Island (AP) -- The O'Connor family has its own Christmas miracle: Its cat that had been missing for two months was found clear across the country.
Jefferson, a 5-year-old orange tabby, somehow escaped from his carrier as he was being loaded on a Delta Air Lines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The cat was flying with his kin, McKinley, to the East Coast, while the O'Connors were driving.
Delta crews and the family spent four nights scouring the airport. Later, workers checked animal hospitals and shelters, distributed fliers and took out newspaper ads.
Around mid-October, a woman spotted Jefferson in a tree near the airport, but the cat's collar came off when she tried to grab him.
About a month later, the family had gotten desperate. Kelly O'Connor decided to fly back to the Seattle area to look for the cat. She posted brightly colored, laminated fliers offering a $200 reward.
"A lot of friends, frankly, thought we were crazy," Will O'Connor said.
Finally, on December 15, a daughter of a Delta Air Cargo manager told the O'Connors that Jefferson had turned up in a house basement near the airport.
A veterinarian confirmed the cat's identity through an implanted microchip. Delta flew him to Rhode Island.
Jefferson had lost about 40 percent of his 13-pound body weight when he arrived, Will O'Connor said.
"He kind of stunk a little bit," Will O'Connor said.
The normally adventurous feline is slowly regaining his desire to go outdoors, perching himself on the window sill.
"He's starting to turn into his old self," Will O'Connor said.
MIDDLETOWN, Rhode Island (AP) -- The O'Connor family has its own Christmas miracle: Its cat that had been missing for two months was found clear across the country.
Jefferson, a 5-year-old orange tabby, somehow escaped from his carrier as he was being loaded on a Delta Air Lines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The cat was flying with his kin, McKinley, to the East Coast, while the O'Connors were driving.
Delta crews and the family spent four nights scouring the airport. Later, workers checked animal hospitals and shelters, distributed fliers and took out newspaper ads.
Around mid-October, a woman spotted Jefferson in a tree near the airport, but the cat's collar came off when she tried to grab him.
About a month later, the family had gotten desperate. Kelly O'Connor decided to fly back to the Seattle area to look for the cat. She posted brightly colored, laminated fliers offering a $200 reward.
"A lot of friends, frankly, thought we were crazy," Will O'Connor said.
Finally, on December 15, a daughter of a Delta Air Cargo manager told the O'Connors that Jefferson had turned up in a house basement near the airport.
A veterinarian confirmed the cat's identity through an implanted microchip. Delta flew him to Rhode Island.
Jefferson had lost about 40 percent of his 13-pound body weight when he arrived, Will O'Connor said.
"He kind of stunk a little bit," Will O'Connor said.
The normally adventurous feline is slowly regaining his desire to go outdoors, perching himself on the window sill.
"He's starting to turn into his old self," Will O'Connor said.
