A cat named Drifter is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeks

This undated photo provided by Clifton Nesseth shows Drifter, a three-year-old tabby cat who was rescued from a sewer, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Duluth, Minn. (Clifton Nesseth via AP)

DULUTH, Minn. -

A cat aptly named Drifter is safe at home after sneaking outside and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly eight weeks.

The 3-year-old tabby -- an indoor feline who had aspirations of being an outdoor cat -- went missing from the home of Clifton Nesseth and Ashley Comstock in the northeastern Minnesota city of Duluth on July 18. His owners presume that he went to check out the construction underway in their neighborhood at some point.

The family, including their 12-year-old daughter, April Dressel, hung up posters and searched across the city without luck. They were beginning to plan a small memorial service for Drifter on Tuesday when neighbor kids came over and said they heard meowing coming from a storm drain at the construction site. The family also heard him meowing as they started digging through the dirt and cutting through the landscape fabric.

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"A little paw shot out of a tear in the fabric," Nesseth said. "It was a tabby cat paw. We tore the fabric more and then his head popped through."

A neighbor, Dahlia Boberg, 16, captured the reunion on video.

"Drifter!" Nesseth is seen exclaiming as he lifts the cat high, while neighbors who are gathered around laugh with delight and amazement. "He's been under there the whole time! He's really skinny."

Drifter was still wearing his collar, confirming his identity. When he went missing he weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms). After his sojourn in the underworld, he weighed 6 1/2 pounds (2.9 kilograms), about 8 1/2 (3.9 kilograms) pounds less.

Nesseth and Comstock guessed that Drifter explored a hole that got sealed up with him inside and that he had been living underground eating and drinking whatever he could find, perhaps mice and sewer water. April had gone out for a walk that morning and called out Drifter's name, and they think the cat heard the calls through the sewer pipes and went to a spot where he could be found.

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Drifter spent the night cuddling with April on her bed. He's putting weight back on, now, and his vet expects a full recovery.

"He's a foodie, if a cat ever was," Nesseth said. "We're trying to give him fluids and he wants to eat the syringe."

The family adopted Drifter after finding him while on vacation in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. They chose the name for his independent personality.