Cat that went missing on BC Ferries vessel found safe at terminal

Luigi, the cat that went missing on a BC Ferries vessel travelling from Nanaimo to Tsawwassen, made a safe return home with the help of ferry workers and a pet rescue group. On Sunday, Aug. 24, Luigi returned to his owner's arms, after volunteers with Halo's Pet Rescue tracked the cat to a portable office at the Tsawwassen terminal, following up on sightings from ferry workers over the preceding week.  "Somehow he got off of the ferry and out at the Tsawwassen terminal," said Neelya Herbert, Luigi's owner. "He hasn't told me how he did it yet." The two-year-old tuxedo-patterned cat made its escape onto the Coastal Inspiration ferry on Aug. 9 through a narrow vehicle window opening while the owners were coming back from their wedding on Vancouver Island. The search was supported by Halo’s Pet Rescue as well as BC Ferries staff members, who Herbert said "were exceptional." "I got a phone call yesterday just after 10 o'clock in the morning from a lady that works on the ferry and her husband Jeff works in the yard at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and he had spotted Luigi and taken his picture…" she said. "I called Karen and Dyanne [with Halo's Pet Rescue] and together they were able to get to the terminal and establish with [their tracking dog] Halo that Luigi was in fact there." The rescuers waited beside the office until the owner arrived and called out to the cat to coax it out of hiding. "I thought I heard him meowing under there. Luigi and I kind of talk all the time, so I meowed back and within 15 minutes he was with me," Herbert said. Despite the long separation, Herbert said Luigi seems like himself again. "He's happy, he's talking, he woke me up every hour last night just to tell remind he was home and that he needed snuggles. He's eaten four containers of food, although the guys at the terminal were feeding him. He's using this excuse to get extra food." Herbert said she's grateful for all the people who followed the cat's story and never gave up, even though it was a "needle in a haystack." "It's like the best thing ever to get Luigi back. He's an incredible pussycat and I feel like our family is whole again." In a social media post [http://www.facebook.com/BCFerries/posts/pfbid0xqNXuY61bpawR44UKTYZYU6wpjZEMZ9JKLb3BvD56QTVuRkNphCuyoLNDHziT2jil], B.C. Ferries gave a shout-out to the crew members who "kept a vigilant eye out for Luigi and to Danny Lang, B.C. Ferries commercial services driver lead, who left food out for him just in case he was around." "We are beyond grateful for everyone's fruitful efforts to find Luigi and reunite him with his family," the ferry corporation posted.