After 40 days in the Colorado wilderness, this cat named Fridge was reunited with her Minnesota owner

In this Nov. 2, 2020, file photo an American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over whether the Trump administration can exclude people in the country illegally from the count used for divvying up congressional seats. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

ISANTI, Minnesota (WCCO) -- An Isanti, Minnesota, tattoo artist was reunited with her cat weeks after she was lost in the Colorado wilderness.

Driving back from Los Angeles, Nakee Bullen and her boyfriend made a pit stop in Colorado. The couple was trying to see as many national parks as they could. But while camping outside Great Sand Dunes National Park, Bullen’s worst nightmare came true.

“I woke up at about 5:30 a.m., 6 o’clock in the morning and both of them were gone,” Bullen said.

One of her cats, Lewis, was nearby. But 3-year-old Fridge was “nowhere to be seen.”

After scouring every campsite in a 7 mile radius, Bullen made the hardest decision of her life, calling off the search and heading home.

“I felt like I left a little piece of me there,” Bullen said. “I was just crying because she wasn’t here with me and all I wanted was my baby.”

She kept looking from home, checking the Humane Society website and social media.

“Every time I did it was the most heartbreaking thing, you’d see cats that look a lot like her but it wasn’t her,” Bullen recalled.

Park rangers told her the likelihood of finding Fridge was extremely low.

Then after 40 days alone in the Colorado wilderness, a miracle happened. Someone turned Fridge into the Humane Society. Bullen instantly made the 16-hour drive to reunite.

“She’s a fighter. She’s a certified baddie now,” Bullen said. “It was the most amazing feeling. It was just absolute tears of joy,”

Despite being lost for over a month, Fridge is healthy and happy to be home.