They thought she was a goner but Flirt the cat came back to her family Wednesday night after a harrowing ordeal during the Fort McMurray wildfire disaster more than two months ago.
Flirt went missing on May 2 as her Fort McMurray family scrambled to flee the wildfires on a side-by-side ATV. During the ride, the cat jumped out of the daughter’s arms and the family was unable to catch her before escaping while they could.
The family’s home burned down and they believed Flirt must have died in the fire.
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But Rhonda Werbicki, whose sister’s family Flirt belonged to, never gave up on trying to find their furry friend.
Werbicki, who contributes time to animal shelters, always had a special bond with Flirt. It was her who found Flirt a home with her sister and her family.
Although she lives in Saskatchewan, Werbicki networked with people in Fort McMurray through social media and had a woman set up a wildlife camera on her sister’s property and some sardines in the hopes of baiting the cat toward the camera.
Never a stranger to a snack, Flirt crept up in front of the camera, much to her family’s delight. Later, an animal control officer set up a trap and caught Flirt in order to reunite her with her family.
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“I couldn’t believe it,” Werbicki said. “I really, honestly just couldn’t believe that this cat who is Miss Priss, survived.”
“Honestly, it gives hope to everybody out there,” Werbicki added. “If Miss Flirt can survive this, there’s hope for any other animal out there.”
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On Wednesday night, Werbicki flew to Fort McMurray to pick up Flirt and bring her to her home in Saskatchewan.
Flirt’s family are staying with relatives in Gimli, Manitoba until their home in Fort McMurray is rebuilt. Once they return to the northern Alberta community, Flirt will finally be reunited with them… and while it wasn’t the very next day, clearly Flirt just couldn’t stay away.