A lucky California family has been reunited with their cat after 475 days apart.
The Montecito mudslide destroyed the Strogoff family’s property and neighborhood in early 2018. They evacuated shortly before the natural disaster, leaving their two beloved cats behind.
“I had no idea what happened was going to happen, and assumed they would be fine. When we got back we couldn’t find them,” Noelle Strogoff stated in an interview with KEYT.
The Strogoffs finally moved back into their home a year later, but they weren’t counting on seeing their cats again.
One day, Noelle mentioned one of the family’s cats, Diamond, to a renovator working on her home. The worker asked her what Diamond looks like.
It turned out that the worker had been feeding Diamond, who was surviving on food donations from local residents.
Diamond, who turns three in July, is in good health, and the Strogoffs were thrilled to welcome her back into their home. Watch this video to see Diamond’s reunion with 10-year-old Alexander!
This is a very heartwarming story, but please remember to always take your animals when evacuating for a natural disaster — not all pets are this lucky.
What’s New…
This a lovely story but they should’ve taken Diamind with them. 🐱🐈🐾❤❤❤
A very special story!
And LF please remove this story because it just pisses.me off. These animal abusers, yes leaving your cats behind in a dangerous mudslide situation is ABUSE!!!! THEY dont deserve ANY ATTENTION or those beautiful cats, one of which DID NOT SURVIVE THE DANGEROUS MUDSLIDE SITUATION! TOTAL NONCARING JERKS
To the family with the cats and mudslide….how on Earth could you leave beloved pets behind. If it was dangerous for you humans to flee don’t you think it would have been dangerous for your poor cats to be left Behind too? This story just rubs me the wrong way. I can’t even imagine leaving my cats behind in the face of a dangerous mudslide. I’m sorry but I can’t call you true animal lovers.
Cats are so loyal that this cat hung around the neighborhood for over 400 days waiting for its owner to get her. Luckily, there were neighbors who fed her. Why didn’t the owners take the cat initially? Thinking the cat would be fine in a mud slide is a faulty assumption. I do not understand why the owners did not go back to their old neighborhood searching for cat and talking to neighbors. Also, if these owners had a tag & microchip on the cat, they would have had their cat much, much sooner.This a story about cat loyalty despite owner irresponsibility. It’s not all sugar coated as the video shows.
I would never have left my cats behind.
I always wonder what possesses people to leave their pets behind. These are family members too. I’d rather get stuck in the fire myself than leave my cats behind. My heart breaks for the second cat that probably wasn’t as lucky as diamond.
I would hope that in the future the family will take any pets along with them when they have to leave an impending disaster.
So what happened to the other kitty? I am glad Diamond is ok but this just hurts me. We have 7 cats. We live in the Blue Ridge. All 7 would go with us.
WHY DIDN’T THESE PEOPLE TAKE THEIR ANIMALS WITH THEM??????? I WOULD NEVER HAVE
LEFT MY ANIMALS ALONE!!! THEY ARE REAL JERKS! THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE ANIMALS!
She thought they would be fine? Really? A landslide and you “Thought they would be fine”? You shouldn’t own a pet!
Very happy that one of the “beloved “ pats was found alive. Very angry that they left these so-called “beloved “ pets behind to die alone and scared. Why do people think that pets can be abandoned and will happily survive? They should not be allowed to keep the pet they abandoned and should not have any more pets. If they want to be involved in the lives of animals, perhaps volunteering at the local shelter.
Authorities would have to drag me away kicking and screaming, and have to pry my bleeding hands off of whatever I was latched on to before I’d leave my cats behind. Where we go – they go. Simple.
I would never assume they’d be fine.
Thank you to the worker AND the local residents that took care of Diamond
R.I.P. Diamond’s Buddy.
I agree with you!
I am right there with you. We took our dogs with us for Hurricane Katina. I would never have left them even if I had to sleep in my car with them. But if by some bad judgement I would have stayed, they would have had to shot me to get me to leave my dogs to drown.
Thank you for helping Diamond. So happy Diamond is home !
How can you LEAVE THE ” BELOVED” PETS TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES while you abandoned them & the place & moved away? Please need to know that other people aren’t such foolish to listen to your fantasy story. THIS POOR CATS WERE NOT AT ALL BEING “LOVED” They are completely UNLOVED poor cats.
I have Pets & if any reason I am to leave the place THE FIRST THING I TAKE IS ALL OF MY PETS. & THEN THE MATERIAL BELONGINGS. I will Never leave my beloved pets behind while I moved out.
“Heartwarming story”? – NOT! Their “two beloved cats”? Obviously the cats were not beloved. She “assumed they would be fine”?! These people were lucky to get one of their cats back. It’s horrible to think of what may have happened to the other one – likely crushed and suffocated in a mud slide. Those people deserve to have the same thing happen to them. If these cats were actually lucky, they would have a home with responsible people. .
You’re right. This family was idiotic. They obviously abandoned their cats to die while cowardly saving themselves. Next time I hope someone abandons the Strogoff family to die so they have a sense of how it feels.