Cat is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeks

DULUTH, Minnesota — A cat aptly named Drifter is safely back home after sneaking outside and being stuck in a sewer for nearly eight weeks.

The 3-year-old tabby, an indoor cat who loved being outdoors, disappeared from the home of Clifton Nesseth and Ashley Comstock in the northeastern Minnesota city of Duluth on July 18. His owners believe he may have gone to check out construction work in their neighborhood.

The family, including their 12-year-old daughter, April Dressel, put up posters and searched the city, but to no avail. They were planning a small memorial service for Drifter on Tuesday when a neighbor’s children came over and said they heard him meowing from a storm drain at the construction site. The family also heard him meowing as they began digging in the ground and cutting through the landscaping fabric.

“A little paw popped out of a tear in the fabric,” Nesseth said. “It was a tabby cat paw. We tore the fabric further and his head came through.”

A neighbor, Dahlia Boberg, 16, captured the reunion on video.

“Drifter!” Nesseth exclaims as he lifts the cat high into the air, while the neighbors standing around laugh in amusement and amazement. “He’s been under there the whole time! He’s really skinny.”

Drifter was still wearing his collar, which confirmed his identity. When he disappeared, he weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms). After his time in the underworld, he weighed 6 1/2 pounds (2.9 kilograms), about 8 1/2 (3.9 kilograms) pounds less.

Nesseth and Comstock suspected that Drifter had explored a hole that had been sealed with him in it and had been living underground, eating and drinking whatever he could find, perhaps mice and sewage. April had gone for a walk that morning and called Drifter’s name, and they believe the cat heard the call through the sewer pipes and went to a place where he could be found.

Drifter spent the night cuddling April on her bed. He is now gaining weight and his vet expects him to make a full recovery.

“He’s a foodie, if a cat ever was,” Nesseth said. “We try to give him fluids and he wants to eat the syringe.”

The family adopted Drifter after finding him on vacation in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. They chose the name because of his independent personality.