The Kevin’s owner is 44-year-old Cheryl Walls from Anderson, SC. She adopted the cat from a local shelter in June 2013.

“He was primarily an indoor cat, but he acted unhappy,” Ms Walls said. One day she allowed him to go outside.

“He would come back, but one day in the fall of 2013, he was gone. I assumed someone must have picked him up. Now, he has seen more of the country than me,” Ms Walls said.

She said she is definitely looking forward to Kevin’s return. The cat’s name has special significance to her, even though she did not name the cat Kevin.

When she first met the cat at the shelter, she was unaware that the shelter employees had named him Kevin. She learned his name after getting to know him and getting ready for the adoption process. It seemed very fitting that it would work out the way it did. The name also happens to be her late fiance’s first name.

Kevin was very stealth in his travels. He made it all the way to the Arizona-California border without detection.

His stowaway days ended after a state Food & Agriculture inspector performed a routine check on a U-Haul trailer that was being towed by a woman.

The inspector asked the driver to open the trailer. The woman complied and that’s when the inspector heard a ‘meow, meow.’

The inspector asked the woman if she knew a cat was in the trailer. The woman said no – and also informed the inspector that she didn’t own a cat.

The inspection station worker took custody of the cat and later drove him to the Blythe Animal Shelter of Riverside County Animal Services. Once there, the cat was examined, scanned for a chip and provided nourishment and water.

“We have handled some pets with crazy back stories, and this is one more for the list,” said Robert Miller, Director of Riverside County Animal Services.