In the famous Schrödinger’s cat hypothesis, a cat in a box is both alive and dead until someone looks inside – and in the case of one mischievous cat from Utah discovered inside an Amazon return package, it was very much alive.
The cat, Galena, survived being shipped all the way from Lehi, Utah, across the US to California after sneaking into the package. Galena, six, an indoor-only cat, traveled more than 500 miles in a 3-by-3ft shipping container, according to NBC.
Galena endured six days of travel with no food or water, but was discovered in relatively good shape by an Amazon employee.
Her owner, Carrie Clark, first discovered that her beloved companion was missing on 10 April. Family and friends quickly helped her look for the cat, passing around posters.
“Galena, our super shy indoor cat escaped today,” Clark wrote about Galena’s disappearance to a Facebook group for lost pets. “She’s a part of our family and has never been gone this long before.”
A week later, Clark and her husband got an astonishing notification from Galena’s microchip: the cat had been discovered in Los Angeles.
At first she thought the notification was a mistake. But Galena the cat had actually been mailed cross-country.
Brandy Hunter, an Amazon worker at a California warehouse, said co-workers informed that they had found a cat in a returned package, Hunter said on Facebook.
Hunter, who self-described as a “crazy cat lady”, took Galena in for the night, then to a local veterinarian.
When the vet scanned Galena’s microchip the Clarks were instantly notified, and the vet also called the Clarks to confirm Galena was now in their care.
The Clarks hopped on a plane and traveled to California to be reunited. While “much skinnier”, Clark confirmed Galena was “completely unharmed”.
“We’re in awe of all the tender mercies that have taken place. It’s a total miracle!” she posted.
She believes Galena may have gotten into the Amazon box while they were trying to seal the return delivery, she told the New York Times. Because the box already weighed more than 30lb, they did not notice the extra weight.
“She doesn’t meow a lot and she loves boxes, so for her, she was really happy in that moment, I’m sure,” Clark said. “Although I’m sure that wasn’t the case later on.”
