By: Carol Fang

On April 17, Carrie Clark received a phone call telling her that their missing cat had been found. The call was from a veterinarian in California 650 miles away from home.

Galena, a 6-year-old American shorthair with a multicolor pelt, lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the Clarks. Galena’s journey started when she ventured into an Amazon box with five pairs of steel-toed-CAT shoes. Ms. Clark’s husband, Matt Clark, unsuspectingly carried the box to drop off as a return package.

Ms. Clark reported to a 4 News Now interview, saying, “She was trapped in an Amazon package. We had no idea, so Matt took the package to the drop off without knowing that our dear cat was inside.”

During the week of searching for Galena, the Clarks put up “MISSING” posters. “We were frantically searching for her for a week,” Ms. Clark said. “We tore our home up trying to find her.” For nearly a week they couldn’t find their cat, and the couple began to lose hope.

Galena survived six days in the box without food or water on the way to California. She was able to do so because a small opening in the box gave her enough oxygen to breathe, and mild temperatures kept Galena from either freezing or overheating. With the conditions being stable, Galena traveled across borders and was able to live.

The return package was transported to an Amazon warehouse, where an employee, Brandy Hunter, discovered her. Hunter took care of the cat during the search for her, while also taking the cat to a vet. Apart from mild dehydration, the cat’s health was in good condition. Fortunately, Galena had a microchip on her for the vet to scan with information about the Clarks who reunited with Galena, and she has now recovered fully.

“They say cats have nine lives, this is the story of how our kitty Galena used six in a week,” Ms. Clark jokes.