Lost Cat Home Safe In Aquebogue

AQUEBOGUE, NY — A little lost cat from Aquebogue is home safe Thursday thanks to the caring community who came forward to help find her.

Larrin Gerard said Luna went missing on Monday; she'd just had dental work and had come home groggy when somehow, Luna darted out the front door.

Just nine months old and tiny, Luna was "the runt of the litter," Gerard said. She was adopted on Christmas Eve from Virginia Scudder, founder and executive director of North Fork Country Kids Rescue & Preservation Through Pedagogy in Aquebogue.

"She was a Christmas gift to my husband Derek and daughter Olive," Gerard said.

When Luna went missing, she and her husband, as well as her little girl, 6, were devastated. "The first night, Olive cried for a long, long time," she said.

Luna is also the first cat her husband, who adores felines, has had since he was growing up in his parents' home. "He really loves cats, and he was really broken up about this," Gerard said.

The couple was out every night searching, even bringing their beagle to help track Luna's scent. Gerard said she knew Luna was close because she spotted her tiny paw prints on the property near the woods.

On Thursday, Gerard was thrilled when Luna was found. North Fork Country Kids was able to help trap Luna safely and bring her back to her family, she said.

It was another one of Luna's nine lives: She was already rescued once by North Fork Country Kids from a feral colony by a strip mall in western Long Island.

Gerard wanted to thank Scudder and staffer Danielle at North Fork Country Kids as well as Maggie Harrigan, the barber at Love Lane in Mattituck, who lives in Aquebogue and helped search.

"We are so, so relieved," Gerard said. "Luna is dirty and very hungry but happy to be home. She's very tired, as are my husband and I."

The petite cat may be small but she has a huge place in her family's hearts, Gerard said.

"She's been the glue that held us together during the past months," she said. "We've been hitting the 'corona-wall', and she has given us something to look forward to every day. She's a new member of our family."