Ben Kronenberg

It was a day the Mackenzie family will never forget.

On Easter Saturday morning, Claire Mackenzie went for her daily 6am walk only to discover that their tabby cat of 7 years, Holly, had disappeared.

Holly, who was predominantly an inside cat, had ran away from her home and her owners.

Every morning at 6am following their cat’s disappearance, Claire would continue on her daily walk while calling out Holly’s name in an attempt to find their cat. This process was repeated every day for five weeks.

‘I looked everywhere for Holly,’ she explained. ‘In front yards, lanes and alleyways, calling out her name the whole time.

‘We didn’t understand it. She loved staying in the yard or sticking close to the house. We were beginning to fear the worst, but were puzzled by the fact that there was no body.’

Then, on a Thursday during the school holidays, the Mackenzie family left to Bushman’s Dam for a picnic with some family friends.

‘We pulled up in the space right next to the Dam,’ Claire said. ‘As it turned out, we were lucky we did.’

She explained what happened next.

‘The boys got out of the car and ran to the Dam to look at the ducks. The boys called out to me and said there was a cat on the water’s edge. Then, Nickolas began screaming ‘It’s Holly! It’s Holly!’’

Claire said she was doubtful it was and insisted to the boys that it was just a stray cat.

‘The boys kept saying it was Holly. They were so convinced it was that Hugh climbed over the fence and picked the cat up. I immediately knew it was Holly because of distinct white markings around the cat’s head.

‘I ran across the park, crying the whole way,’ she said. ‘I saw the attitude in Holly’s eyes and that was when I became convinced it was our cat. It was a very emotional reunion.’

In the week following the incident, Holly has settled down well back in her familiar surroundings.

‘She’s extremely happy to be home,’ Claire explained. ‘She is sticking close to the house this time. She hasn’t left the backyard since.’

She describes the incident as ‘extremely lucky’.

‘It’s a miracle that we found her at that exact time and place. There was a bus-load of kids arriving at the park a bit later in the day. If we hadn’t found her when we got there, I was sure that the kids would have frightened her off.’

Her children Nickolas and James (both 7) and Hugh (10) said they were glad to have their pet cat back.