Williams Lake cat isn't so picky about his food after 7 months fending for himself
Dexter the cat is home in the Cariboo after he sauntered away from his temporary home during summer wildfires
Williams Lake's Diane Walters had pretty much given up hope on her cat ever coming back.
Three-year-old Dexter escaped last July during the wildfire evacuation that forced residents of Williams Lake, B.C., located about 550 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, to flee.
Dexter made a break when Walters's son and daughter-in-law were camped out in Pritchard, near Kamloops, more than 300 kilometres from home.
"My cat Dexter is an independent lad and he comes and goes as he sees fit," said Walters.
"I had been told by the people there ... that he mostly likely met his end by a coyote," said Walters.
So imagine her surprise when she heard from Mary Huntington and Gail Robinson in Pritchard last week.
The duo had received a call about a cat hiding in the recycling depot in Pritchard.
'A feral cat wouldn't do that'
They both work with the Pritchard Volunteer Fire Department and went out with another member to see if they could rescue the animal from between the two bins where he had been spotted.
"I was dressed, in case he was feral, with big gloves and stuff on and we looked over and called and he poked his head out some cardboard and he meowed … and we figured a feral cat wouldn't do that," said Robinson.
It was –16 at the time of the rescue so Robinson said they had no problems getting Dexter into the cat crate.
They posted on a Pritchard Facebook group to see if anyone in the area was missing a pet, but had no responses. That's when they got the suggestion the cat might be one that gone missing during last summer's wildfires.
They were able to find a posting from the previous summer and track down Walters to compare photos of the cat.
"She said, 'That's him, that's him,' " said Robinson.
After a microchip confirmed Dexter's identity, Huntington and Robinson made the drive up to Williams Lake to deliver the cat in person.
Walters says Dexter recognized her right away, but was a little standoffish.
"He looked at me and gave me that 'what took you so long' look," she said.
Now, the cat is safely back home and settling in with the family's other pets. Though Walters says Dexter is a lot less fussy about what he eats after seven months of living as a stray.
Huntington and Robinson are pleased with the happy ending.
"It was just really nice to see something positive come of all that we had been through through the summer," said Huntington.
Dexter isn't the only cat to have made his way home after the wildfires. Both Hamish and Ivy have been returned to their owners.
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