Katie Evans, a cat owner from Cheltenham, had been on the trail since early November last year when the cat appeared in front of her near Lake Sumner in Canterbury earlier this week.
“One kilometre past there in this deep wooded area … this black kitten just popped up and I was like, ‘Well, that's unusual’."
The kitten - which she named Lady Bluff - hid among logs and roots, watching Evans cautiously.
She says she was aware of how dearly New Zealanders held wildlife and how roaming cats were considered a threat to the biodiversity in these parts but, being an animal lover, Evans knew she couldn’t leave it behind.
“I kind of waited about 40 minutes, didn't seem to be any mum around. It seemed quite nervous.”
After several failed attempts and trekking through logs, Evans finally managed to scoop the hissing kitten up in a towel.
Carrying it one-handed, she clambered over fallen trees and navigated a swinging bridge over the Hurunui River to reach the nearest hut, 6km away.
There, fellow hikers helped her feed the kitten milk powder and dried yoghurt.
Keeping a close eye on her friend, Evans hiked over rough terrain for two more days - walking 25km each day.
“The cat mainly slept in there. When it woke up, I just kind of tried to feed it some dry powder milk.”
At the huts, she learned through the logging records that another hiker had previously spotted the kitten but couldn’t catch it.
After reaching Arthur’s Pass, Evans shared the story in a Te Araroa WhatsApp group, prompting multiple offers to adopt the kitten.
Evans said she was cautious at first, wanting to make sure an animal shelter could get it treated and vaccinated.
She eventually met a Christchurch resident who told her they were experienced with stray kittens and already had a vet appointment booked, just in case she agreed.
During that meeting yesterday, she learned the kitten was already weaned because of the changes in its eye colour.
“I thought it wasn't weaned because it wouldn't take any of my trashy hiker food,” she says, adding that it gobbled down her scrambled eggs at an Arthur’s Pass café.
“[The Christchurch resident] was like besotted … they were like, we've actually already got the vets booked, just in case. So I felt confident that they were like they were quite knowledgeable about kittens.”
The kitten - now renamed Bluffy - was given a clean bill of health, though slightly underweight.
Evans is taking shelter from the rain for a few days before continuing her journey south, grateful that her unexpected trail companion is now safe.
