Vancouver Island cat treks home

The cat came back, sort of.

When Brittney Leroux and her family moved into their Courtenay, B.C., home in August 2021, the previous owners told them they might have a visitor to take care of.

That visitor being a stray cat named Freddie, one of a few that spent time in the neighbourhood. The home’s previous owners told Leroux they had been feeding the stray for seven years, and it might come back for more.

To Leroux and her family’s surprise, Freddie didn’t come by.

“We thought, ‘Oh, of course, we’re gonna keep feeding this little cat.’ So, we left food out, and we never saw a cat. We did for months, and then it turned into winter and we thought, ‘Well, this is bizarre, I guess the cat doesn’t like us.’ So, forget it,” she said.

Fast forward to April 2022, a cat showed up at their door and wouldn’t stop meowing and thought this must be Freddie.

“At first, we kind of just left some food out for it. It was starving, super skinny. As the days, and the weeks, and the months went on, the cat was just getting friendlier and friendlier. We have four boys and they would play with the cat, and the cat would come in and sit on our laps and let us pet it … my son even took his birthday money and went to PetSmart and got the cat a collar, and treats, and toys, and water and food dishes,” Leroux explained.

Freddie AKA Max seen with his new little brother in Courtenay, B.C. (Supplied / Brittney Leroux)

After some time seeing the cat more and more often, they decided to take him in. They set up a litter box, and made Freddie a real part of the family.

“I even convinced my husband to put in a little cat door so the cat could come and go as it pleases. So, he really just became part of our family,” said Leroux.

After a year of Freddie being a constant in their home, Leroux received a surprising email from the previous homeowners explaining that Freddy was not the cat they were referring to, and in fact was a totally different stray.

The owners who previously lived in their home, owned a cat named Max who went missing after they moved into a new home. After some time searching, they gave up.

On Feb. 20, Max’s owners’ son was out for a drive and happened to be heading through Leroux’s neighbourhood and spotted ‘Max’ at his old home.

After speaking with the old family, Leroux learned Freddie was actually 16-year-old Max, the previous homeowners’ cat, and he had travelled around on his own to get back to his old home.

“I contacted her (the previous homeowner), and I phoned her, and we chatted for quite a bit. She kind of thought, if they take the cat back then the cat will just end up trying to come back. He grew up for 16 years at that house and we’re taking such good care of him and have been. So, the cat came back,” said Leroux. “I couldn’t believe it when when I got the email, I was literally shocked. I just felt bad because this poor family has gone almost a whole year thinking that their cat, Max, had passed away.”

“We had him safe and sound thinking that it was a stray cat that we were taking in,” she added.

As the cat had been living with Leroux for some time now, he was part of a new family, and this home had been his home for his entire life.

She says the cat, now officially named Freddie to her family, is a part of their lives now.

“He means a lot to us, we’ve actually never had a cat before. We have a dog, my husband and I growing up had never had a cat,” said Leroux.

Freddie AKA Max with his new dog brother Gunner in Courtenay, B.C. (Supplied / Brittney Leroux)

She adds, Freddie is actually bigger than their dog Gunner, who was scared of his new feline roommate at first.

Leroux says her family has a security camera set up to make sure Freddie is still safe and sound and using his cat door.

With files from Chad Harris