Cat missing since Gesner Street fire reunited with family

A cat has been reunited with its family nearly a month after the pet went missing during a fire on the 6500 block of Gesner Street that killed four children and destroyed eight homes.

Workers with the nonprofit Red Paw Emergency Relief Team said the cat's owner was talking with her former neighbor on speakerphone Friday night when the cat apparently heard her voice and ran over to the neighbor's porch.

As the cat began scratching at the window screen, the neighbor rushed outside and threw a laundry basket over the animal to ensure it wouldn't escape a second time.

Red Paw workers on Saturday morning took the cat, named Blake, to a veterinary clinic to be checked out and vaccinated.

The pet was given a clean bill of health and returned to its family members, who are among the 30 people that were displaced by the July 5 blaze.

Red Paw said in a Facebook post that the family initially "said they were grateful to all be okay and be in a new house, but felt that a piece of them was missing" because Blake had not returned.

Now, "we are so glad they are all back together again, and that there is a happy ending to a very sad story," the organization said.

The cat was the only pet that remained unaccounted for after the fire, according to Red Paw.