Six years ago, Amanda Graham lost her kitten Cleo while attending school in Ontario.
The missing cat was never found, and when Graham returned to her home province of Alberta, she gave up her search.
"It was hard … having to just give up on an animal," Graham told CTV Edmonton.
"I thought she was dead," she added.
But thanks to some creative pet detective work from an animal rescue worker, Cleo is finally being delivered back into the arms of her original owner.
Betty-Jean Matthews, president of Stuck in the Mud Animal Rescue, says the calico cat was found prowling the streets of Brockville, Ont., last September.
Cleo was eventually picked up by the local pound, and when it couldn't locate the cat's owner it was put on a euthanasia list.
That's when Matthews got involved.
Stuck in the Mud Animal Rescue took over the case in the hopes that it could track down Cleo's original owner.
The first clue came to light after Matthews took the cat for a routine checkup, and the vet noticed a faded tattoo on its ear. The marking was traced back to an Edmonton veterinary clinic where the cat had been spayed six years ago, but they still could locate her owner.
Matthews then turned to her daughter for some help with Internet sleuthing.
"We were able to scan through (Graham's Facebook) photos, and there we found photos of Cleo," Matthews said.
There was one more hurdle to clear before Cleo could make her way back to Graham.
The Edmonton native couldn't afford the costs of flying her long-lost cat back home.
But thanks to a crowdfunding campaign by Stuck in the Mud, the $1,000 needed to cover the cost of airfare, meals and accommodations for the cat and a caretaker was raised in just a few hours.
"It was just amazing," Matthews said.
"The outpouring of support and well-wishers from everyone across Canada for this little cat and her owner (was) just marvelous," she added.
The reunion is set for Saturday.
And after six years of separation, Graham was grateful for Stuck in the Mud's efforts in bringing her and Cleo back together.
"I have no idea who these people are, I've never met them, but it's pretty incredible what they're going to try and get Cleo back to me," Graham said.
