A family cat goes missing in Yellowstone National Park and embarks on an 800-mile journey back to its California home

Hundreds of miles of wilderness and the looming threat of predators couldn’t stop a California cat from returning to his family.

Rayne Beau, pronounced “rainbow,” is a two-year-old feline who went missing in June after escaping into the woods during a family trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Now, three months and more than 800 miles later, the little cat has been reunited with his owners.

Benny and Susanne Anguiano, Rayne Beau’s owners, spent almost their entire trip to the national park searching for their missing cat. Benny doused himself with bear spray and wandered through the woods calling for the cat, and the couple even used the calls of Rayne Beau’s twin sister, Starr Jasmine, to try to lure the feline out of the woods. USA today information.

None of their efforts were successful, and after several days of searching, their reservations at the park expired. Knowing they could not stay indefinitely, the couple left the park devastated. Rangers assured them that if they saw the cat, they would call them, but they feared they would never see their pet again.

Adding to the despair was the fact that her other cat, Starr Jasmine, was struggling to cope with the loss of her brother.

Despite the brutal sadness that comes with losing a pet, nature provided a fitting sign that, perhaps, Rayne Beau was going to be okay: Susanne saw a double rainbow as they entered Idaho, and knew that somewhere her cat was “being cared for.”

As it turned out, it was true. Three months later, the family received a call from a shelter saying that Rayne Beau had been found. At first, the couple was skeptical, thinking it was a scam or a mistaken identification, and they were careful not to get their hopes up.

“I told them, ‘Take a picture. I want to make sure I don’t drive three and a half hours and it’s not my cat,’” Benny told USA Today. “And they did. About 20 minutes later, they sent a picture and yes, it was him.”

However, even after seeing the photo, the family remained skeptical. They couldn’t bear the feeling of losing their cat for a second time, so they kept their expectations in check and prepared for the worst.

Upon arriving at the Placer SPCA animal shelter in Roseville, California, all those reservations disappeared: When they saw the cat, they knew it was their Rayne Beau.

“When we found out for sure, we started crying. We hugged each other and cried,” Susanne said.

Rayne Beau was microchipped, which helped the shelter locate her owners, according to Susanne.

The feline had survived his long journey from Yellowstone to Roseville (approximately 1,345 kilometers), but not without complications. Rayne Beau had lost almost half his body weight, had dry, cracked paws, and was malnourished due to a lack of proper nutrition during his time in the wilderness.

Susanne said his weight loss and lack of nutrition suggested to her that he had not been found or cared for during his time away and had been in the woods for most of his journey.

After some time recovering, Rayne Beau is now back to a healthy weight and sleeping and playing with her sister and new housemate Maxx, who the family adopted to keep Starr Jasmine company in her brother’s absence.