Holly the cat makes 200-mile trek to owner’s home

In early November, Jacob and Bonnie Richter lost their cat, Holly, during a camping trip in Daytona Beach, Florida. But it appears that Holly somehow traveled home. The Richters found her a few months later– near their home in West Palm Beach, about 200 miles from the spot where they lost her, the New York Times reported.

Holly was weak and emaciated with worn-out paws. A computer chip they had implanted earlier confirmed that it was the same cat. Scientists are baffled. “Maybe being street-smart, maybe reading animal cues, maybe being able to read cars, maybe being a good hunter. I have no data for this," Marc Bekoff, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Colorado, told the Times. 

More from GlobalPost: Owning cats may increase chance of suicide in women

“It was quite a journey for this little girl,” Jacob Richter told a local television channel. “We just can’t believe she came home.”

Cats aren't known for having navigational skills, but the issue has not been studied much, so there is little data out there on the subject, KFVS reported.  

Will you support The World? 

The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?