Lost cat returns home after three weeks

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WLFI) - Three weeks ago, on the first day of school, 5th grade teacher Anita Harris's cat Doris took what should have been a routine trip to the veterinarian. The trip soon went awry, however; Doris never made it in the door. As Harris's husband carried the cat in from the car the animal escaped from her carrier and quickly dashed away.

Harris said her husband searched carefully for Doris.

"He spent three hours looking for her. But it's surrounded by deep woods and a corn field and then, of course, Wal-Mart and a lot of other businesses," Harris said.

The couple continued to search for the cat, but gave up hope after a couple of weeks. After all, Doris is an indoor cat who had never been away from home. In order to make it home, the cat would have to survive in the wild, find her way through miles of open fields, and safely cross three busy highways.

But three weeks after Doris had disappeared, the Harrises received a welcome surprise.

"She came in right through that screen and sat there looking at me like, 'I'm back. What are you going to do about this?' I was amazed she survived and found her way back home. I'd always heard dogs did that but not cats," Harris said.

Doris did return a much thinner cat with callused paws.

Harris used the experience in her classroom, asking students to write about the remarkable chain of events.

Student Cali Saunders read part a story written from Doris's perspective aloud in class.

"I saw it. The veterinarian. I could not go in there so I tried to escape. My fight was a success for that cheap plastic cage was no match for my defensive claws," Cali read.

Harris said Doris is adjusting to life back at home and now rarely leaves her side.