Alberta family's cat found in Yukon

A family in Peace River, Alta., will soon be reunited with Weezy, the cat who somehow travelled more than 1,100 kilometres north to Whitehorse over the past eight months.

Weezy was first spotted in Whitehorse about two weeks ago by an apartment tenant, who fed the stray before turning her over to the city pound.

Weezy was such a friendly cat that she readily jumped into the vehicle of the city bylaw officer who picked her up, said officer Brian Simmer.

The bylaw officer tracked down the family through a microchip in the cat's ear.

"The officer was able to make a few phone calls and find out that the owner was located down in Peace River," Simmer told CBC News on Wednesday.

Strangers offer ride home

Dianne and Terry Theriault of Grande Prairie, Alta., who were vacationing in Whitehorse and read of Weezy's incredible journey in the newspaper, offered to drive the cat back to Alberta.

The couple — with feline in tow — began the two-day drive from Whitehorse on Wednesday. They will have to drive more than 1,500 kilometres of highway to reach their home in Grande Prairie.

"I hope the cat likes bluegrass music, because that's what we're going to play all the way down," Terry Theriault said with a laugh. "It will either put her to sleep … ."

"Or make it happy," his wife said.

Arrange for reunion

When the Theriaults get to Grande Prairie, they'll arrange for Weezy's reunion with her owners, including a young girl.

"We had a dog, a little poodle, for 13 years," Dianne said. "And it would be about two years ago [that] we just put her down, and we still miss her.

"This little girl, I don't know how old she is, but it's just the thought that 'hey, you know, we missed our dog.' I could not imagine what she's going through, and now she knows that it didn't just die."

Dianne said she talked on the phone with the girl, who sounded very happy to hear Weezy is coming home.

Journey a mystery

Whitehorse is about 1,142 kilometres northwest of Peace River, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Dave Pruden, Whitehorse's acting bylaw manager, said officers in the department were surprised to learn Weezy had come from so far way, but similar cases have cropped up before.

"It has happened maybe once about every five years, " Pruden said. "We get an animal from a different area, whether it's B.C. or Alberta.

"A lot of times, it's an animal that's travelled up in a motorhome that's maybe gotten away from somebody."

While some have speculated that Weezy might have hitched a ride with someone travelling between Alberta and Yukon, how the cat ended up in Whitehorse may always be a mystery. Weezy is not talking.

However, she appeared no worse for wear, despite her eight-month journey.