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When Laëtitia De Amicis moved from Ambly-sur-Meuse, in the Orne region of France, to Ginai in Normandy, with her family a year ago, the family tried to keep their three cats Felys, Crapaud, and Cocci, in the new house, as they were worried they’d become disoriented in their new surroundings. But somehow, Cocci, a sweet gray-and-white cat, left home and disappeared.
“We searched, we searched, we searched… I woke up the whole neighborhood,” De Amicis told Hellas news. “Unfortunately, no one had seen the cat.”
After searching for three months with no success, De Amicis suggested to her worried kids that Cocci was probably looking for them and had set out by herself to return to their old home in Ambly, not believing for a second it could be true, according to National World News.
Cocci went missing in August 2021. Incredibly, in October 2022, De Amicis saw a post shared on Facebook saying that a stray cat had been found in Souilly. Thirteen months and 280 miles later, Cocci was reunited with her family just 6 miles from their old home.
Unbelievable Circumstances
Cocci was found under a car by a couple who posted her photo on a missing pet forum. Then they took Cocci to the vet. After months on her own, Cocci was hungry and exhausted and weighed only 2 lbs.
“I recognized her straight away, although she looked completely different,” De Amicis told National World News. The vet confirmed that this cat was about 10 years old and had been neutered, as had Cocci.
De Amicis sent her father Bernard to check on the found cat. Bernard, who was reluctant to go, said he couldn’t believe it was possible that the cat was actually Cocci and had traveled across the country. But when he called his daughter from the vet on video call, Bernard confirmed that the cat was indeed Cocci.
“When he called me that day I…saw my dad cuddling my cat on the video call. I knew it was her,” De Amicis added. “It’s unbelievable. I still can’t believe it.”
“We cannot scientifically explain how this cat was able to travel 600 kilometers. By chance and coincidence, it’s possible that she gradually got closer to the place she wanted to get to and after a while she started to recognize smells and noises that eventually led her closer to the house,” Joana Lagarrigue, who specializes in feline behavior, told Hellas.
True Incredible Journeys
Cocci’s story is similar to one portrayed in a 1993 movie, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey¸ a remake of the 1963 film, The Incredible Journey, which was based on the 1961 novel of the same name.
The movie is actually based on a true story, according to a blog on the Oakland Veterinary Referral Service website. Other accounts involve similarly unfathomable distances and obstacles that most humans would not be able to overcome. This includes Bucky the Labrador who traveled 500 miles after he was relocated; Hank the German Shepherd who made it 11 miles back to his foster mom; Georgia May, the dog who journeyed home 35 miles away after becoming lost on a hike; and Prince the Irish Terrier who mysteriously made it across the English Channel to find his British owner in northern France.
Though she had to stay with the vet for three weeks while healing from her travails, the De Amicis family is thrilled to have Cocci back home and is happy to be showering their cuddly cat with love.
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