Homeward bound? Missing cat reunited with owners after five months in B.C. back country

Whenever Hollywood producers decide to make the next Homeward Bound film they may want to get a hold of Cindy McLeod.

Mcleod's 8-year-old house cat Dexter was found and returned home safely to its Vernon home after a staggering five months in the wild.

The Bengal-tabby cat originally went missing during a family camping trip to the Blanket Creek area near Revelstoke, B.C.

"We're one big family, when we go camping we generally put both the dog and cat on leash and take them with us," said McLeod. "I got out of the vehicle with our dog and Dexter on lease but they got tangled up and I momentarily dropped Dexter's leash."

After hours of searching, dark set in and the couple realized they would have to leave him for the night.

"We called the park facilitators and SPCA and then went back to the same campground the following weekend to stay and search for Dexter for three days but we had no luck," explained McLeod. "It was very upsetting, we put up posters but it's a huge park and we figured we he was gone.".

Jump ahead to early November when McLeod receives and an unexpected call from Selkirk Veterinary Hospital in Nelson, B.C.

"A vet called and said they had ran the tattoo on a cat found beside a highway and it came up with our name," said McLeod. "We were stunned, it had been five months. So we took off to Nelson right away and when we got there he recognized us right away."

According to McLeod, a woman found Dexter along Highway 23 between Revelstoke and Nelson. She lured the starving house cat into her car with food and then brought him to the vet.

Dexter had lost about three and a half pounds, was dehydrated and had grown a scruffy coat but was in pretty good shape health wise.

"I figure he survived by mooching or stealing food off campers but we're so lucky," said McLeod.

"A good lesson here is to always have your pets tattooed."