Cat missing in Cyclone Gabrielle reunited with Hawke’s Bay family more than a year on

A Hawke’s Bay family has been reunited with their cat more than a year after she went missing during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Jana Braga and her children were evacuated from their Greenmeadows home last year on February 14, taking their 5-year-old cat, Phoebe.

While transitioning between different places to stay in the aftermath of the disaster, the moggie was spooked while on a lead and slipped her collar in Ahuriri, Napier.

Jana Braga of Waipukurau with Phoebe, 5. Phoebe's family were reunited with her more than a year after she disappeared in Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Warren Buckland

Jana’s husband, Paulo Baronceli, was isolated in Hastings away from his family during that day in February 2023 while the bridges were closed but was reunited with his family that evening and quickly joined efforts to find her.

“My wife has been quite relentless because she really, really loved that cat. If you look on Facebook, you could probably find hundreds of posts from her trying to get some information or find the cat,” Baronceli said.

“A lot of animals got lost that very same day, and with what happened with the cyclone, we weren’t sure if she had survived or not.”

He said the posts slowed down when there hadn’t been progress after six months, but his wife decided to post again on the anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle, and soon afterwards they had some good luck.

“A couple of weeks after that, she got a message from a lady on Facebook who said she saw a cat living under a school in Marewa.”

They learned the first woman had fed the cat matching Phoebe’s description for most of the last year. SPCA staff soon got involved and caught her using a cat trap.

SPCA said in a statement Phoebe was part of a stray cat colony which dwindled until she was the only one left.

“The 5-year-old was in good condition but very dirty from living rough. Phoebe is a white tabby cat with unusual markings, but a staff member was able to confirm her identity straight away by her microchip,” the statement said.

SPCA Napier centre manager Joy Walker said microchips are vital in reuniting cats, dogs, and horses with their owners after major disasters and SPCA advocates for the mandatory use of them.

“Having that microchip was amazing, and we are grateful we were able to reunite Phoebe with her owner who never gave up hope.”

Baronceli said the family had since moved to Waipukurau from Greenmeadows in Napier, so the cat was now settling into her new home after being reunited with them on Friday.

“She recognised us straight away - there was lots of crying in the SPCA when that happened.”

He said she was still the same cat they remembered for the most part, but she’d stopped venturing outside as often and had been keeping to only one part of the unfamiliar house.

“She has still been a little bit sketchy, [she’s] trying to understand what the hell happened,” Baronceli said.

“Of course, after all she has been through, she is still a little bit distrustful - not of us, but I think of the environment.

“She was always a cat that liked to be outside, but she is very much indoorsy at the moment.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. Contact him at james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.