Alberta wildfires miracle: Felix the cat found alive after missing over 100 days in wake of Jasper evacuations
Caretaker Nicole Klopfenstein says despite being lost over three months, she never lost hope that she would be reunited with the missing feline
Amid the aftermath of the wildfires that devastated the Rocky Mountain town of Jasper over the summer, one resident shares a remarkable story that is nothing short of a miracle.
Missing for over 100 days, Felix the cat's dramatic search was an emotional roller coaster for caretaker Nicole Klopfenstein after he vanished during the chaos of wildfire evacuations.
'We didn't know if he was dead or alive, in a ditch dying or where he could be," said Klopfenstein in an interview with Yahoo News Canada. "I didn't want to fear the worst."
'People were running with their suitcases': Klopfenstein details fleeing nearby wildfire
Hot, dry conditions across western Canada sparked hundreds of fires across western Canada in July, and on the evening of July 22, Alberta authorities issued an emergency alert for the park as well as the municipality of Jasper, warning of the threat from a wildfire south of the town.
At the time, Klopfenstein was working at a vet clinic in Jasper and says nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that unfolded. When the evacuation order was issued, she was caring for Felix, a cat whose owners were out of town. Tasked with ensuring his safety, she scrambled to evacuate Felix alongside her own cat and dog.
"We were stuck in a car for four hours not moving," Klopfenstein recounted. "You looked outside and people were running with their suitcases trying to figure out where to go."
With a single road clogged with bumper-to-bumper traffic as evacuees fled under a night sky glowing red from nearby flames, Klopfenstein knew her only option was to head to her family’s cabin in Valemount, 120 kilometres west of Jasper.
Klopfenstein recalls opening her cabin to 17 fellow Jasper evacuees and their pets on the first night, saying, "There were people all along the highway, just sitting in their cars."
'He took off': Felix goes missing while Jasper burns
Several days after fleeing the wildfire in Jasper, Klopfenstein says she took Felix outside the cabin, and "he just took off."
"I called for him thinking he was going to come back," she says. "This was all new to him, he was stuck in a room with a cat and dog he's never met."
Klopfenstein’s first move was to set up live traps filled with food around the cabin, hoping to lure Felix back to safety. She also plastered missing posters across Valemount, betting on the chance that someone — resident or evacuee — might spot the elusive feline.
"After four weeks of fruitless searching for Felix, Klopfenstein faced a heartbreaking choice — return to Jasper. With officials declaring the wildfire-scarred town safe, she reluctantly left Valemount, unsure if she'd ever see the feline again.
It was heartbreaking leaving him, unsure of if he was dead or alive -- if he was injured in a ditch somewhere.Nicole Klopfenstein, Jasper wildfire evacuee
Before leaving Valemount, Klopfenstein made sure Felix wouldn’t be forgotten and shared her contact information and spread the word far and wide, just in case the elusive feline decided to resurface.
Search efforts for Felix ongoing: 'No, that's someone else's cat'
Klopfenstein shares that while thankfully, her home was safe from wildfire flames, her place of employment didn't fare as well.
"Unfortunately, my vet clinic burned down — the place I worked," she says. "Thankfully, there were no animals at the clinic, but it burned right down."
Several days after returning to Jasper, Klopfenstein says she received a call from a lady in Valemount saying she believed she spotted Felix. "We drove out right away, set live traps and called for him. We spent two days searching, but nothing," she shares.
"You know in a movie when you call someone's cat and they come running and galloping through the meadows? We thought that would happen, but it didn't."
Klopfenstein flooded social media with Felix’s photo, holding onto hope despite the passing months. She says she received several other calls about another possible spotting, and after making the two-hour drive to Valemount, says "No, that was someone else's cat."
Then, in November, that hope was reignited when she received the long-awaited sign — Felix may still be alive.
'I saw his face': Against all odds, Felix is alive after missing over 100 days
On November 5, a Valemount resident who had previously alerted Klopfenstein about a potential Felix sighting, called once more after spotting a cat that seemed to match Felix's description while walking through a marsh.
Oh my gosh, that's Felix!Valemount resident
The caller managed to snap a photo of the cat, and when Klopfenstein, who was at work, saw the image, she and her boss instantly agreed: "It looks just like him."
Determined to bring Felix home, she called her sister, and together they drove to Valemount, scouring the marsh where Felix was last seen and setting up live traps to try and rescue him. Sure, enough, they spotted him.
“I approached cautiously, and then I heard him meowing loudly, like he recognized my voice,” she recalls. They tossed him treats, hoping to coax him into their arms. "When I saw his face, it was unmistakably him, but he was just skin and bones."
When Felix finally returned to Jasper, he was immediately taken to the vet for an exam. Despite being severely underweight and ravenous, having lost half his body weight, the brave cat received a clean bill of health.
"He's doing well, he's eating, drinking and has gained a kilo over the past two weeks," Klopfenstein shares.
She can't help but marvel at how Felix survived months apart from his family, calling his return a true miracle, and still wonders how he managed to endure it all.
Klopfenstein says the story of Felix's survival is one of hope amid loss to the wider Jasper community.
"He survived, and he did it, so we will survive too," she says.
