The owner of a cat that hitchhiked its way to Edmonton has been reunited with her beloved pet.
Lynn Hahn arrived in the Capital Region early Friday morning from Melville, Sask. and reunited with her feline, who has been staying with an Edmonton train conductor.
Brad Slater was at work in Wainwright, Alta. Sunday when he heard a sound coming from underneath one of the train cars. He found the cat nestled under a train engine.
READ MORE: Edmonton conductor finds cat nearly frozen to death under train
The cat had endured snow and frigid cold during the journey. It was quickly bathed and taken to the vet for a check-up.
The feline had been dubbed Q199 after the number of the train he rolled in on.
Hahn said, before she heard the news story about Q199 – whose real name is Tiger – her family was preparing for the worst. He had been missing since November 25.
“I even said to the husband the day before I got a hold of Brad, ‘I better put the cat bed away because it doesn’t seem like the cat is coming back,’” she said.
Hahn said the train tracks are roughly a kilometre-and-a-half away from her house.
Hahn got wind of Tiger’s journey to Edmonton through social media and was blown away by the story.
She admits to being a little nervous during their reunion Friday morning.
“I was shaking and wondering what he would do. As soon as [Brad] started talking, I said ‘hello Tiger’ and he came straight away, started smelling me. I picked him up and was hugging him,” she said.
Slater said he has mixed emotions about the reunion, adding he has become quite attached to the feline.
“He’s just so docile. He’s been handed off like a football. He’s taking it like a superstar. He loves it. He’s amazing,” he said.
Slater, who calls Tiger “a miracle cat,” said the cat’s journey was from Melville to Saskatoon to Wainwright, Alta. on a train going 97 km/h.
He said his connection to Tiger is nothing like his bond with his other three cats.
“My three cats are happy. They know what I’m going through. Last night, when he went to bed, they all came up and they knew – I got support.”
This is not Tiger’s first experience with trains – Hahn said she found him while working at the CN station in Melville back in 2013. He’s estimated to be five or six years old.
“To go back and ride on the train like he did here is amazing – a little hobo,” she said, laughing.
She plans to bring Tiger back to Melville on Saturday – his journey back will be similar to his journey to Edmonton.
“I come on the VIA to pick him up and he’s going to go back home on the train again,” she said.
And as for Slater? He’s already planning a trip to Melville to see Tiger next summer.
“We’re going to keep in contact. She’s going to send me pictures and videos. Uncle Brad is going to be around forever.”
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