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A Puhoi family whose lives were thrown into chaos when their home was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle finally had good news last week, when two of their beloved cats, missing for nearly five months, were found.
In the aftermath of the cyclone, the Robinson family were provided with emergency housing by an Ōrewa local who heard about their plight.
Not long after the move, two of their three rescue cats – Coco and Oreo – escaped from the Ōrewa house.
Dee Robinson says it was traumatic, especially for the couple’s three teenagers, and they searched for the cats everywhere.
“We think they were heading back to Puhoi,” she says. “They are both good rat and mice catchers, so I was sure they could find food, but they are used to living in the country and not road or town savvy.”
After 11 weeks the family moved to more permanent accommodation in Wainui.
Then, on July 8, almost five months after the cats went missing, a picture was posted on social media of a cat found in upper Waiwera. There was no doubt it was Coco.
The person who found her managed to get her into a cat cage, and Coco was reunited with the Robinsons a short time later.
The same eagle-eyed rescuers had spotted a post about another cat, also found in Waiwera, that proved to be Oreo.
That weekend, the Robinsons had both cats back, safely at home. Both had lost weight, but Dee says they were in remarkable condition considering the journey they must have had.
“When you’ve lost everything, animals are a familiar security blanket and we can’t believe we have them both back after all this time.”
