Two months and over 800 miles later, Rayne Beau the cat was reunited with owners in California after running off in Yellowstone.
Benny and Susanne Anguiano were camping in Yellowstone National Park when their cat Rayne Beau (pronounced “rainbow”) ran off into the woods.
Rayne Beau had a history of running off and finding his way back at the Anguiano’s home, but this time he didn’t return after dashing out of the truck and into the dense forest.
“He didn’t realize that it wasn’t just like his backyard,” Susanne told The New York Times. “This is like the biggest backyard in the United States.”
After five days of searching near their campground at Fishing Bridge R.V. Park, the couple made the difficult decision to drive home. One campsite worker said it was likely that the cat might have been killed by a bear or coyote, which are common in the Yellowstone area.
The Anguianos and Rayne Beau’s sister, Starr, felt the loss acutely.
“Leaving him was unthinkable,” Susanne said. “I felt like I was abandoning him.” Starr meowed all the way back to Salinas, California.
Fast forward two months, the Anguianos received a call from a local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Roseville, California. Rayne Beau had been found wandering the streets of Roseville, 800 miles from Yellowstone and only about 200 miles north of Salinas.
It’s likely that Rayne Beau was picked up or hitched a ride on a vehicle headed toward California for at least part of the journey, but it’s difficult to know for sure.
“The fact that he was in California and just three hours north of us — I think that proves more that Rayne Beau was the one trying to get towards his home,” Susanne said.
