Wisconsin cat endures cross-county adventure in back of hot moving van

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Annie the cat loves to roam, but she got a bit more traveling experience than she bargained for last month. She sneaked into the back of a truck -- bound for Virginia.

After traveling 1,000 miles, the 10-year-old calico roamed in the woods in Roanoke, Va., for 18 days before being caught.

Annie had hopped into the truck that owner Ann Roskam's neighbors Michael and Christina Blackley were using late last month to move from New Franken, near Green Bay, to Roanoke.

It took them three days to get there, and temperatures in the truck were sweltering. Michael Blackley's father, Chip Grubb, helped unload it.

"We're carrying boxes and suddenly we see something jump from one box to another," Grubb said. "All things considered, she looked pretty good. But she had been in there for three days without food or water."

Annie wore an identification tag, but a deer spooked her and she ran off. Grubb said he "felt awful" and put up posters and drove around searching for her. Annie finally showed up at a neighbor's house, and arrangements were made for a flight home. She arrived Friday.

The kitty's life will remain largely unchanged, though.

"She loves to be outdoors, and she needs to be outdoors," Roskam said.