Ralph was being cared for by Toni’s mum Leonie when he disappeared, but two years later, Ralph has been found, safe and well, living with another family in Balldale.
His discovery came in a bizarre coincidence.
After her weekly session with the Corowa aqua exercise group, Leonie was having coffee with some of the others when one of the ladies showed everyone a photo of her cat.
To her utter surprise, the photo was, unmistakenly, Ralph.
“She was in shock and disbelief,” Leonie said.
“But I had goosebumps; I was so excited I couldn’t shut up.”
“I had goosebumps; I was so excited I couldn’t shut up.“
With just one hind leg and limited movement, somehow Ralph had ended up 25 kilometres away.
The Balldale couple found the skinny and scared cat in an abandoned house next door and spent the next few months trying to gain his confidence.
They named him Ginger Ninger and for almost two years he lived mainly outside, coming inside each morning and evening to eat.
“They thought he was a girl,” Leonie said.
“But I told her to have a look and she’d find he was a boy.
“I also told her his name … when she went home, she called out ‘Ralph’ and he came running.”
On Sunday, Toni travelled from the Police Academy in Goulburn to be reunited with her lost friend.
“When Mum messaged me, I was gobsmacked,” Toni said.
“But with three legs, you can’t really mistake that, and as soon as I saw the photo, I knew it was him.”
And while feeling genuinely disappointed for the couple who’d grown attached to him, she was beyond excited at the thought of seeing Ralph again.
“He’s the best cat, he’s like a lap dog,” she said.
“I’m pretty tough but when he disappeared, I was devastated.”
It’s been eight years since Toni found the tiny, domestic short-haired kitten at Rivalea.
He had three good legs and “one dodgy one”, which she had amputated.
“I presume he was left behind because of his deformity,” she said.
“He’s very fast, but with only one leg he can’t jump, and Mum’ house was fenced so he couldn’t have escaped.”
Ralph is not the first cat to go missing from Leonies neighbourhood and it will remain a mystery as to how he ended up in Balldale.
Now that he’s finally home, Leonie said he won’t leave her side.
““I think he was always pretty special because of his missing leg,” she said.
“He’s a very loved cat, and now he’s very overweight.”
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