A man from Lyon has been reunited with his cat nearly three months after it vanished at a motorway service area in southern France. Clotaire found Petit Cœur, who is nearly 18 years old, after the cat escaped from his car at the Vinassan-Narbonne Nord service area in the Aude department during the night of 11 to 12 May, French regional outlet Le Progrès reported.
Clotaire had stopped at the service area while travelling to his second home in Narbonne-Plage when his ginger cat slipped out through a small gap in the car. He said the cat had been frightened, pointing to the noise at the rest area. He spent four days trying to find the cat before giving up and returning to Lyon.
Back home, Clotaire did not stop searching. Petit Cœur has been part of his life for fourteen years. He said he got the cat when he was 18 years old and is now 32.
Weekly 800-kilometre round trips
For close to three months, Clotaire made the same journey almost every week, leaving Lyon after work to spend the weekend searching around Narbonne, covering around 800 kilometres each time there and back. He also had help from Dominique, a member of the association Charly's Angels, which looks after the cats living around the motorway service area.
Several cats frequent the area, including a number of ginger cats, and most of them are very wary of people, which made the search harder.
Caught in a trap cage
Clotaire's persistence paid off on the night of 31 July into 1 August, when a trap cage caught one of the cats living near the service area. It turned out to be Petit Cœur. Thinner than before, with fur that had grown longer and more ruffled, the cat was immediately recognised by his owner from his meow.
Once back in Lyon, Petit Cœur quickly settled back into his old routines. After three months spent outdoors, though, he appeared to have developed a taste for life outside and began asking to sleep on the terrace.
Tribute to the rescuers
For Clotaire, the reunion brought an end to three months of worry. He said he wanted to pay tribute to Dominique and to the Charly's Angels association for their help, noting the group's work supporting the many cats that live around the motorway service area.
