(UPI) A Vermont family was reunited with their lost cat five months after the feline jumped out of the car through an open window while parked at a Connecticut rest stop.

Herwig Goldemund said he and his wife were in the midst of moving from Georgia to Vermont in July of this year when they stopped at the rest stop along Interstate 91 northbound in Middletown, Conn.

The couple cracked a window for some fresh air while they napped in the car, and when they awoke, their cat, Minka, was gone.

"We saw the little paw prints on the car that she had escaped through the window," Goldemund told WTIC-TV.

The pair spent hours searching the area for Minka before they had to continue their drive to Vermont.

"We were really heartbroken that the cat was gone and we did not think that we'd ever see her again," Goldemund said.

Cortney Madore of Wallingford spotted Minka wandering around the highway and contacted Middletown Animal Control.

"We went out there and sure enough, there she was," Middletown Animal Control said in a Facebook post. She ran.

Animal control officers set out traps baited with sardines and other snacks, and they found Minka in one of the traps a few days later.

"Once at the shelter, a scan found the microchip that confirmed it was Minka! She was dirty, skinny and covered in ticks, but otherwise OK," the post said.

Goldemund's wife, Susan, made the drive back to Middletown to bring Minka home.

"Minka knew her Mom instantly and put her head right in her hand," the Facebook post said.

Copyright 2022 by United Press International