WINNIPEG — It was the Christmas gift a family was hoping for but never could have expected.
Last July, Enshane Nomoto and her family were moving from the Dayton, Ohio, area to North Pole, Alaska, when one of their two cats took off outside a Winnipeg hotel.

The family had to continue on their lengthy drive and left the missing male cat, Gohn, behind. Earlier this month, Nomoto received word that Gohn had been found outside a River Heights home, still wearing its collar with her cellphone number on it. Nomoto said she kept her phone number when she moved to

Alaska in case someone found her pet.

A young man recently texted Nomoto after he and his brother found Gohn — skinny, but in good health — outside their family's River Heights home.

"It's a wonderful present, The kids were shrieking with Joy," she said. "It's just a really kind gesture from strangers so far away."

Gohn is currently staying at the Winnipeg Humane Society. His owners would love to have it home for Christmas but cold weather restrictions means Canadian airlines won't transport pets, at least for a while.

"I couldn't get a better gift than that," Nomoto said of her pet being found. "We'd love to spend our Christmas with him but even if it's just a little bit late, he's going to get one heck of a homecoming. I hope he remembers all of us when he gets here."