Bay Area Proud

Ukrainian refugees reunite with cat they lost after arriving in the Bay Area

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Yaemiko the cat has quite the tale.

The curly-haired red Selkirk Rex and his humans, Larysa and her young daughter, fled war-ravaged Ukraine, but when they all arrived at San Francisco International Airport, hopeful for a fresh start, despair quickly set in. Yaemiko escaped from his carrier in an airport parking lot.

For nearly one month, Yaemiko fended for himself in a foreign environment as his distraught humans tried desperately to find him.

In a stroke of good fortune this past Monday, community cat trappers Anna and Gregorio rescued Yaemiko and brought him to the Nine Lives Foundation clinic in Redwood City.

Thanks to the cat clinic's supervisor, airport baggage handlers and a community of cat lovers, Nine Lives pieced together Yaemiko’s story and reunited him with Larysa and her daughter Tuesday afternoon.

"In a moment we’ll never forget, Larysa and her daughter broke down in tears as we handed Yaemiko’s carrier over to them," Nine Lives wrote in a Facebook post. "After everything they had endured, their family was finally whole. Yaemiko, their last connection to home, was back in their arms where he belongs."

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