Before Sunday, the last time Cary and Eileen McFadden saw their cat, Pauline, was during a vacation to the Black Hills more than a year and a half ago.

Pauline wondered off in June 2006 while the couple, who now live in Pass Christian, Miss., were staying in their RV at the Happy Holiday Resort on U.S. Highway 16 near Reptile Gardens.

The McFaddens long ago assumed they wouldn't get their feline friend back, but they recently received a call to the contrary from Rapid City business owner Shari Rose.

"I was dumbfounded," Cary McFadden said in a phone interview from Mississippi on Monday. "She called and said, 'do you own a cat named Pauline?'"

Rose found the cat and was willing to ship her back to the McFaddens.

After realizing Rose found their cat, McFadden was amazed because he realized the animal survived on her own for almost 20 months.

"It's just amazing that she survived that long," he said. "She's a Louisiana cat, so she's never experienced cold weather."

Rose put her on a plane Sunday back to the McFaddens.

Cary McFadden said they are pleased to be reunited with their cat.

Rose, who owns the Sweetgrass Inn Bed and Breakfast across from Reptile Gardens, said she occasionally sees stray animals that are left behind or lost from people in the RV park.

She had seen Pauline off and on for about four to six months and attempted to entice the cat with food.

Rose was finally able to get Pauline to come close enough when the weather got cold, and the cat apparently had a harder time coming up with food on her own. She brought the cat in and got a number for the McFaddens off Pauline's collar.

Rose took the cat to the veterinarian and, after contacting the McFaddens, sent Pauline on a plane back home.

"I was thrilled to be able to reunite them with Pauline," she said. "She was a sweet little cat, and those people are just so nice. And I'm glad they wanted her back."

She was astounded the cat survived for so long, especially because there are mountain lions, coyotes and other predators in the area.

Cary McFadden said the cat proved she was a tougher animal than he originally thought.

"She must be a much more resourceful cat than what we had given her credit for," he said.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapicityjournal.com