A little girl's cat has taken an extraordinary journey across the Australian outback.

10-year-old Emily Schilling lost her three-year-old cat, Pippa, on Feb. 20 in Darwin, Northern Territory. As the weeks went by, Emily helped her mum, Rebecca, to search shelters and neighbourhoods for any sign of her beloved feline.

"The cat went missing, as cats do wander off, and we just expected her to come back at some point, then a couple of weeks passed and... still nothing," Rebecca told Mashable Australia. She eventually accepted the sad reality that Pippa had been hit by a car or taken by a stranger.

Emily and Pippa before the adventure. Image: Rebecca Schilling

Then on April 10, Rebecca received a bizarre call from her former neighbour Jason King, who had just relocated to Brisbane, Queensland — almost 3,500 kilometres away. "Seven weeks later, I get a phone call and a guy saying 'this your ex-neighbour, we moved to Queensland and we have just opened the container and found your cat'," Rebecca said.

As King packed up his belongings into a container on the cul de sac where the Schillings live, the cat somehow walked inside. "She probably thought 'this is a nice place to hang out,' and crawled into the back and just made herself at home," Rebecca said.

When King opened the container after 49 days, the sight inside was horrendous. Rebecca said his belongings were covered in bodily fluid and hair, and he had to dispose of some of his furnishings.

Pippa the cat. Image: Rebecca Schilling

Pippa apparently survived with little more than determination on the long journey, but was drastically underweight and malnourished when she was set free.

"She had nothing," Rebecca claimed. "No food, no water and very little ventilation as it was completely sealed for weather protection ... I didn't expect to see her again."

It is unusual for a cat to survive such a length of time without water, Mashable Australia has contacted Animal Welfare League Queensland to confirm this extraordinary feat.

Rebecca said she felt "sheer disbelief" when she heard the news of the cat's reappearance in another state, and Emily is "over the moon" knowing her cat will be home soon.

Pippa has been taken in by a vet from the animal welfare centre in Brisbane and once she gains weight she can take a flight home to her family. It is expected she will be ready to travel by the end of next week, and make a full recovery. "She might come back with a nervous twitch though," Rebecca added.

(h/t Channel Nine News)