It was a phone call that Jennifer Leigh Thompson had hoped for but had long given up on receiving. Pilot, a beloved family cat that sometimes acted more like a dog, had been found alive after being missing for a decade.

The cat had been severely burned in the Wine Country fires that devastated the area, and his rescue on Halloween means he’ll soon be reunited with the family he hasn’t seen in 10 years.

A Good Samaritan found Pilot, badly burned but still alive, and took him to Petcare Veterinary Hospital in Santa Rosa. The staff there believes he had suffered burns more than two weeks earlier, most likely in the Tubbs fire that destroyed almost 2,000 homes in Santa Rosa.

They started treatment and, as is routine in vet offices, scanned him to see if he had a microchip. He did, and it showed his owner as the Thompson family.

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“I never in a million years imagined that we’d ever see him again,” Thompson says. “And I’m so fortunate to have close friends who work at Petcare, where he’s hospitalized. They have been keeping me updated and giving him lots of love.”

The family had adopted Pilot when he was just a kitten, and he quickly purred his way into their hearts. He was about 3 years old when he failed to come home one evening.

In the years between Pilot’s disapperance and his Phoenix-like return, the Thompson family had moved from Santa Rosa to Longmont, Colorado. It took a few phone calls, but Thompson was eventually located.

Pilot’s disappearance had devastated her family, Thompson says.

“He was an indoor-outdoor cat that always came home every evening like clockwork,” Thompson says. “He was microchipped and was wearing a collar with a tag. He is a very special cat who loved my kids, loved to play in water, and followed us around like a dog. His disappearance was extremely traumatizing to us.”

The Thompsons searched for months. Then in 2010, the family moved to Colorado. Pilot remained a bittersweet memory, until three days ago when Thompson got the unexpected call.

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San Jose woman bedeviled by fleas in her house Pilot suffered severe burns, mostly to his paws, where some burns were down to the bone. When found, he was starved and dehydrated.That he survived for more than two weeks, seriously injured and on his own, is a testament, Thompson says, to his strength and will to live.

He still has a long, difficult road to recovery. Because of the pain, he must be sedated whenever his bandages are changed, which is often.

He has been through so much, Thompson says, and yet he keeps going. Pilot is getting better every day, she says, and the experience has not changed him. He’s still purring and happy whenever the staff opens his cage to pet him.

Thompson plans to return to the Bay Area next week and, whenever Pilot is well enough to travel, bring him home to Colorado. She also has started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise $3,000 to cover his medical costs.

“I am so touched by everyone who has reached out to me,” Thomson says, “even people that I’ve never met. I cried when I received the first donation. It means so, so much to my family.”

It’s been difficult, Thompson says, knowing how much Pilot has gone through and not being with him.

“It’s amazing he survived all of that,” she says. “I just have so much gratitude. It’s been quite hard being in another state and I can’t wait to see him.”

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