Rare African cat reunited with owner

ASHWAUBENON - What started as a routine maintenance check on Wednesday turned into one of the most memorable mornings for Lee Johnson and Josh Arndt. The two are employees at John's Refridgeration in Ashwaubenon. They were checking on a warehouse the company rents across the street from it's Ashwaubenon offices.

"We came here and Josh turned on the lights and it was lying right on the carpeting by that plant," said Johnson.

"I''m like, look oh man Lee, that's cool there's a stuffed cat there and this is kind of weird," said Arndt.

"I took one step in because I was going to check it out and that's when it moved and we backed up in a hurry," said Johnson.

The two booked it down the stairs and out of the building as fast as they could. Johnson knew it was the missing African cat he had seen on TV -- but said it was an unexpected and scary find.

"Something you want to not see everyday, that's for sure," said Johnson.

The cat, a rare African serval named Taabu, had been missing for more than four days. Its owner, Laurie Pitts, said Taabu jumped out of his RV on Saturday night. The RV is parked on the 800 block of Morris Avenue.

Pitts is visiting family in Northeast Wisconsin and said he has barely slept since Taabu ran away. Pitts said it was a major relief when Johnson and Arndt called him to let him know they had found his cat.

"I would have stayed here until I found him no matter how long it would have taken," said Pitts.

Taabu is de-clawed and neutered, but the 50-pound cat can run 65 miles an hour and jump 15 feet in the air. Pitts plans to take Taabu to vet for a check up, but said his cat should be just fine.

"He was hungry and thirsty. He was extremely excited to be reunited with me this morning," said Pitts.

Pitts is thankful for all the people who pitched in to look for his cat -- even the ones who did so accidentally.