PHOENIX — When Ally D'Amore parked her car at work, she heard the sound of purring underneath her car, but her key was no longer in the ignition.
“We heard the meows. It was me and my co-worker standing here looking inside the hood thinking she was stuck in the engine block somewhere," Ally said.
To her surprise, a small cat appeared from the undercarriage.
"We were bent down under here trying to look for her because we realized the meows were here, and she came out of this hole,” she said.
Ally had driven 20 to 30 miles from Tempe to her job site in Peoria.
"I made no stops," Ally explained. "I have no idea how she did it."
The cat had a collar on but no tag, so Ally and a co-worker called Animal Control about a microchip, but there was no chip. Ally has named the cat 'Hitch' in honor of her travels.
She posted pictures on Facebook asking for the community's help in finding an owner.
Her post read:
"This little one hitched a ride in my car from Tempe to Peoria! I didn’t hear her meows until I parked at my job, can’t believe she survived the drive.
I live right off the 202 and Van Buren. 100% someone’s baby, sweet as can be. Looks about just under a year old, she needs to go back home to her people and I don’t want to just release her in the parking lot."
On Friday, Ally got her wish and "Cypress" was reunited with her owner, Darlene Anaya.
Turns out Darlene lives in the same apartment complex and thinks Cypress somehow fell off the patio and was looking for a place to stay warm.
"I was so excited to have her back because she's a little baby. My other cat is so attached to her, and I'm attached to her as well," said Darlene.
Darlene is planning to get an AirTag to attach to Cypress' collar so all of her adventures can be closer to home.
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