Cats love boxes.
Galina also seems to love shoes.
Galina, a curious cat who lives in central Utah, went on an unexpected journey across state lines earlier this month after climbing inside an Amazon package she was returning, about 30 minutes from Great. According to owner Carrie Stevens Clark of Lehi, a city miles south, the salt lake.
Clark said in a Facebook post that Galina mysteriously disappeared on April 10.
“We spent a week searching every inch of our home, our neighborhood, the Jordan River Trail, and surrounding neighborhoods,” Clark posted on Facebook. “We put up flyers and posted social media. Nothing made sense!! I was devastated! Galina is a huge support to me.”
Hope was quickly fading away.
Then the phone rang.
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Cat shipped to Amazon return center in shoe box
Seven days later, on April 17, Clark received a call from a veterinarian in California who told her that Galena’s microchip had been scanned 1,000 miles away near the city of Riverside.
“She was jumping and hiding in Amazon return packages without us knowing,” Clark wrote. “She was mailed to a return center in California and locked in her box and trailer for six days.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Amazon.
Amazon employee finds stowaway cat in returned shoe box
Brandi Hunter, who works in Amazon’s customer returns warehouse, said her co-workers discovered the stowaway in a sealed box taped to the back of a trailer full of items being returned to Amazon. That’s what it means.
The box was large and contained five pairs of work boots, Hunter told USA TODAY Thursday.
Hunter noted that Galina was the “quietest” cat he had ever met, adding: “She was definitely scared and in pain.”
“I was heartbroken to find this truly beautiful cat just petrified and huddled in the corner of the training room,” Hunter wrote in a Facebook post.
So she set out to help find its owner.
Hunter said she took Galina to the veterinarian for an examination, and the doctor reported that the cat was in good condition aside from dehydration and weight loss.
Hunter said on social media: “There was nothing physically wrong with her…she didn’t have any broken bones (maybe some bruises), but all her muscular and skeletal checks were fine and her body temperature… It was normal.” “We tried to get her to eat and drink, but she was too scared.”
Clark and her husband flew to California to pick up Galina.
“That’s when the magic happened…her owners arrived and joined us in the room! This moment was truly amazing,” Hunter recalled of the happy reunion.
“Small miracles and big miracles”
Clark said in her post that Galina returned home to Utah in a rental car last week, adding that she and her husband traveled 1,400 miles to drive her home.
“I’ve had her since she was a kitten. She’s a part of everything about me!” Clark told USA TODAY on Thursday. “We searched for her relentlessly for a week.”
Clark said she couldn’t believe it when her veterinarian called to tell her they had found Galena in California. “I thought it was a prank!”
In her post, Hunter said she was grateful to be “a part of this amazing thing and to be able to turn what was a traumatic and incredible event into something positive for everyone involved.”
Speaking to USA TODAY, Hunter emphasized the importance of microchipping pets. “I’m so grateful that she was able to find her owner so quickly after she was missing. It would have taken a while to get that package back!” she said .
Carter said she is “in awe of all the little miracles and big miracles” that occurred during Galena’s unexpected journey across state lines.
“The seams on the sides of the box were torn to allow the cats to breathe, and the weather was at ideal temperatures, so I went to Amazon Brandi, who knows cats well and knows exactly how to help them,” Clark said. He was sent to an institution.” “Brandy, a microchip, and the grace of God are the reasons Galena survived.”
She, too, would like pet owners to microchip their pets if possible. And “Please triple check your Amazon box!” Clark said.
Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
