By: Cindy Pu

On April 17, 2024, Galena, a 6-year-old American Shorthair cat was found in an Amazon warehouse in California, 500 miles away from home in Lehi, near Salt Lake City. The cat was discovered in athe 3 by 3-foot Amazon return box a week after disappearing from her owner’s.

Galena had vanished from her Utah home a week before a veterinarian in California called Carrie Clark, Galena’s owner, by scanning the microchip on Galena. An Amazon worker, Brandy Hunter, had found her inside a return package on April 17, 2024. It was very surprising that Galena had survived the 500-mile journey across two states.

Carrie Clark said that she thought Galena had jumped inside the cardboard box when her husband went to get some tape to seal the return box up. The box had already weighed over 30 pounds, so Clark and her husband hadn’t noticed the few extra pounds of their undetected cat. Carrie Clark said that Galena loves boxes and doesn’t meow a lot, so her cat was probably comfortable for at least for the first part of her trip to California.

Despite Galena not having any food or water during the unexpected journey, she still survived. She was relatively in good health apart from dehydration. One seam on the side of the return box had come unglued, allowing oxygen to circulate. During this ordeal, Ms. Clark had thought Galena had either been snatched by a predator or ended up in the river behind their house. “It’s really a miracle that she was able to survive,” Ms. Clark said.

When Galena was found, Ms. Clark was so relieved. “When I got to hold her again, she stopped shaking and knew that I was there for her,” Ms. Clark said. “It was such a miraculous moment.”