Canadian Cat Kato Creates Chaos With RVing Couple

Imagine the life of Dick and Diane Forde of Kamloops, B.C. The Forde's adult son has been seriously ill, and after he began a recovery, he finally convinced his parents who had been caring for him to take a break. So the Fordes loaded up their rig and headed south to Palm Springs for some of that coveted winter sunshine.

On the return home, they needed some hitch repair done to their coach, so they availed themselves of a shop in Yucca Valley, not too far north of Palm Springs. It was after the couple had crossed into Canada when 'the light came on.' Their furry friend Kato, a Himalayan cat, was missing in action. Visions of a coyote with a big grin and bits of white Himalyan fur around his chops were just too much for the Fordes to bear.

But Kato, it seems, had other plans. Sometime during the stopover in Yucca Valley, Kato had evidently decided to do a little exploring and wound up snoozing in one of the shop employee's cars. When Dick and Diane thought about their route, they called the shop, and sure enough, found that Kato had taken up temporary residence as a muffler shop mascot.

It wasn't long after the call that the Fordes were crossing the international border again, headed back to Yucca Valley. Shop owner Dave Totten told the High Desert Star newspaper, “My wife [Odetta] is a total animal lover. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to that cat or any animal.”