Missing cat who fell through Mackay office roof reunited with owners after eight months and 1,600km journey

A massive ginger cat stunned Ergon Energy personnel when he fell by means of the ceiling of their workplace in Mackay, 1,600 kilometres from where by his homeowners were dwelling.

Eugene, the domesticated cat, had expended practically eight months fending for himself on the streets and cane fields of Mackay.

The Ergon crew was examining in for a Monday morning shift when they opened the door to get their machines and instead uncovered Eugene and a hole in their ceiling.

Ergon Work Team officer Amanda Morris mentioned the cat sprinted out the doorway, but for several times they read his “modest meows” coming from their ceiling.

Man pointing to a hole in the ceiling, where the cat had been living — Eugene the cat was living in the roof of the Ergon Energy office in Mackay.(Supplied: Fb)

The workforce contacted Mackay Pet Rescue Included (MPRI) and with each other they established traps in the ceiling.

“We would observed that the cat was starting off to get applied to us and you would look up at times and just see this cat looking at you,” Ms Morris reported.

Right after many times the cat was caught and his entrepreneurs have been called.

And to everyone’s shock, they lived 1,600km away in Newcastle, NSW.

A group of people in high vis in an office workshop with a woman in black standing in front. — The Ergon Energy workforce with pet rescuer Robin Morgan after retrieving Eugene from the ceiling.(Contributed: Mackay Pet Rescue Incorporated)

Eugene’s escape

Eugene’s journey began when his operator Sophie Kilgariff and her fiance moved from Townsville to NSW in December 2021.

The few experienced stopped in Mackay to check out Ms Kilgariff’s mother and father on the way down.

Woman holding a cat while another woman looks on. — Robin Morgan holds Eugene right after he was eliminated from the entice, as Amanda Morris looks on.(Contributed: Mackay Pet Rescue Incporated)

“We had ummed and aahed about irrespective of whether we would fly the animals down,” Ms Kilgariff claimed.

“We made a decision not to, that we might travel down with them. We considered … it would not be as scary for them.”

In the course of a halt in nearby Sarina to clean up out Eugene’s journey cage, the cat manufactured his initial sprint.

“Every little thing was high-quality. And then he fundamentally did a Houdini jump and bought out of his harness and ran into the cane fields,” Ms Kilgariff mentioned.

A game of literal cat and mouse ensued with the couple investing hours looking for the frightened Eugene.

But a work deadline meant they had to retain travelling and she was forced to leave her number with neighbours, relying on her mom and dad to carry on the search.

“I was heartbroken,” Ms Kilgariff claimed.

A number of times afterwards, Eugene was discovered and returned to her mom and dad, but a paralysis tick threatened his lifetime.

Even with getting warned he may possibly not make it, Ms Kilgariff paid the vet to do what they could to help save him.

The treatment worked and a number of times later on Ms Kilgariff’s mother and father retrieved Eugene, setting him up at their Mackay home although their daughter moved into her new position.

But Eugene’s adventure wasn’t in excess of — he escaped all over again.

Woman cuddling a ginger cat in a car — Sophie Kilgariff is emotional immediately after becoming reunited with Eugene.(Contributed: Sophie Kilgariff)

Months passed with Ms Kilgariff continuing to article on Fb and acquiring sporadic news of his sightings, but sooner or later resigned herself to the actuality she would never see her fur infant again.

She explained she clung on to the hope a loving relatives experienced adopted Eugene.

“Due to the fact if not, it just would break my coronary heart,” she stated.

Ms Kilgariff couldn’t imagine it when she been given a phone eight months later on from MPRI.

“I had this voice message saying ‘I’m contacting you about your cat’ … it took me a second and then I just realised that was about Eugene and I just started out crying,” she claimed.

A ‘rare’ circumstance

Eugene’s tale of reunion is the reason MPRI’s Robyn Van Rooyen continues in the do the job she does, despite the generally heartbreaking results.

“So when we have these exceptional prospects wherever the owner has done the right issue and the animal is microchipped, it’s an remarkable experience to connect the dots,” Ms Van Rooyen mentioned.