'A Complete Shock': Author Working To Reunite Cat With Family 3,500 Miles Away

A central Oklahoma author is working to reunite a cat she found with its owners, who are about 3,500 miles away in Alaska.

Angela Archer said she went into her barn Wednesday in Newcastle to feed her two horses and a cow when she found the cat.

"Just opened the door and her head popped up, like hello," Archer said.

Archer said she then took the cat to a veterinarian's office to scan it for a microchip. Thanks to the chip, Archer learned that a couple living in Krebs adopted the cat from a shelter in McAlester. 

Krebs is about 140 miles away from Archer's barn in Newcastle.

"We had no idea how she made it to Newcastle," Archer said. "The whole thing is just a complete shock. I'm an author and I just kept thinking this is like a story for a book."

The shelter in McAlester gave the number of the cat's owners to Archer. 

After talking with the couple over the phone, Archer learned the cat, named Athena, darted out of her family's home around June. 

The couple looked for Athena. But they had to move to Alaska without her because the husband had to be stationed at a military base there.

News 9 talked with one of the owners over the phone, who was overjoyed.

"This is crazy to me! Like the cat that I got from the McAlester animal shelter was so small," she said. "All my coworkers - I could not shut up at work about how I can't believe this cat has been found after months of me being gone, and then I was searching for her before I had moved."

Archer said she will continue to look after Athena while figuring out how to get the cat to Alaska to reunite with her family.

"She's so sweet," Archer said. "Every time you walk into the room where she's staying, she purrs and meows. She's just a big love bug."

With nearly 30 books authored, News 9 asked Archer what she would name such a surprising story.

"It'd be like some sort of a comedy, a rom-com type thing," Archer said.

Archer is trying to get Athena a flight on Alaska Airlines. 

Anyone with ideas on how to get the cat to her family can email Archer at Angela@AngelaChristinaArcher.com.