Time and again, cats have proven they have the ability to survive hardships that would fell the toughest among us. We’ve long heard tales of cats who persevered through situations that logically should have ended their lives. But, as cat lovers know, felines are touched by something extra that gives them the strength and determination to live through almost anything.

A family who made a not-so-recent move learned this truth about cats after their special kitty went missing and turned up weeks later. The cat in question is Sadie, and after her moving ordeal, her family is not only happy to have her back, but they now know they have a “wonder cat” on their hands.

Too Good a Hiding Spot

When the Gaines family was preparing to move from Fresno, California, to Charleston, Illinois, their cat Sadie was not a fan of the packing. As cats tend to do in situations they don’t care for, Sadie took to hiding to ride out the unfamiliar. But when she didn’t come home from a day of plundering outside, her family feared the worst.

Mike Gaines, Sadie’s dad, told Illinois’ WCIA, “She’s outside a lot during the day. She always comes in the house at night, but she didn’t show up, and it’s common for the coyotes to get the pets. So, we figured she got taken by a coyote because she always comes home.”

Thinking her gone, their hearts heavy, the family finished the packing, and the movers came to take their belongings to storage, wrapping items in plastic to keep them safe. Because of a driver shortage, the Gaines’ belongings would wait in a California storage shed from September to November. And so would Sadie because she was trapped inside a set of box springs.

Unbeknownst to her family and in her displeasure over the moving uproar, Sadie had torn into the soft lining of the springs and crawled inside to wait out the commotion.

“We figured she was kind of afraid of the movers. So, she probably went in there and hid,” Mike said.

As many cat parents know, a feline in hiding will never be found if she doesn’t will it. So, as the movers wrapped the box springs in heavy plastic, they never even knew a cat hid inside.

“So, several weeks with Sadie, the wonder cat locked in the box springs. No food, no water, no sunlight, no nothing.”

Six Weeks Trapped in the Dark

When their stuff finally arrived after six weeks of waiting, the Gaines went to work unpacking. It was Mike’s daughter who unwrapped the box springs, and when she did, she was greeted with a terrible smell.

“She hollered, ‘dad, there’s something dead in the box springs it stinks.’ So, I came down here, and on my way down the stairs she said there’s a rat in there,” explained Mike. “She just saw her little ears and thought it was rat, but it wasn’t. I came down and looked in there and it was Sadie. She was sitting there looking up at me.”

As soon as Mike touched her, WCIA reported Sadie’s “whole body went limp.”

The family got Sadie to an animal clinic in a hurry, where the vet said her survival was a miracle. Besides losing seven pounds, the vet pronounced the tough cat healthy after six weeks trapped in the dark without food and water.