Dan the cat went missing in east Hamilton in November. A local Facebook group helped get him home

A trail of cat treats and canned mackerel helped reunite a former Hamilton resident with his beloved feline earlier this month.

It was early November when Ben Ehrhardt came home late after a long day of work and mistakenly left his apartment door unlatched before heading to bed.

When he woke up early the next morning, Ehrhardt realized his cat Dan wasn't at his side and the door was open.

My heart dropped," said Ehrhardt, who threw on some clothes and quickly left his home on a frantic search of the Quigley Road and King Street East area. I took the next day off work to just keep looking for him."

However, there was no sign of Dan and the days Ehrhardt could spend looking for the short-haired black cat with two white patches and sad-looking eyes were numbered.

Ehrhardt had just put in his two weeks' notice for his job in Hamilton and was set to move to Dundalk, Ont., a small town in Grey County located more than 130 kilometres away.

Unable to focus on anything but Dan, Ehrhardt ended up leaving his job early to dedicate every spare second" he had to search for the cat.

Ehrhardt walked down train tracks and put up flyers, but his efforts were to no avail. The 41-year-old began to fear the worst for his furry best friend.

I honestly didn't have much hope," he said. He'd never been outside before."

That was until Ehrhardt learned about a local Facebook group - Lost and Found Pets in Hamilton Ontario - which helped restore his faith. He put together a post about Dan and messages of support started coming his way.

It was something Ehrhardt admits he didn't expect. Growing up in the Niagara Region, he said Hamilton didn't have the best reputation," but that standing quickly changed in his time of need.

Members of the group seemingly caught onto his story, and soon enough the page was filled with pictures of black cats in comment sections asking if it might be Dan.

But as time went on, Dan still hadn't been found and eventually Ehrhardt had to pack up and move without his cat in late November.

However, folks in the group pledged to keep the search alive in his absence.

I didn't expect that level of selflessness," said Ehrhardt. These people brought back my hope daily."

There were several leads as time went on, but none of them ended up being Dan. Other hurdles, including the Dec. 23 snowstorm and a totalled vehicle, also ate away at his optimism.

A Facebook message earlier this month turned it all around when Ehrhardt learned that Julie Bernier, another group member, believed she had possibly been feeding Dan since late December.

Bernier told The Spectator she feeds stray cats from her porch on Saint Andrews Drive, a residential street located not far from where Ehrhardt had lived.

She'd noticed a black cat had started showing up, making his way to the food dish from the nearby ravine. Realizing it could be Dan, she set up a surveillance camera in front of the bowl to get a better view of the skittish feline.

Some of the videos made their way to Ehrhardt, who immediately knew it was Dan - all thanks to his distinctive eyes." It then became Bernier's mission to help get Dan home.

Bernier was later connected with a Hamilton woman who has been trapping cats for the last seven years.

On Jan. 10, the pair set up the live trap on Bernier's porch, with a trail of cat treats and canned mackerel laid out to lure the cat in. And just a few hours later, they caught him.

After scanning his chip number, they called Beth Hurl, the head of the local Facebook group, who was able to confirm the cat was Dan.

The two women were elated.

We were screaming our heads off," said Bernier. It was the most unbelievable feeling."

Hurl also sent Ehrhardt a message letting him know they had found Dan.

I had to get up to close the door of my office," said Ehrhardt, who was at work when he got the news. I was just so overjoyed and happy."

Ehrhardt went to pick up Dan from Hurl's house that night and the cat has been clinging to his side" ever since.

Hurl said while Dan isn't the first pet to be reunited with its owner through the efforts of the Facebook group, his story really epitomizes what the group is all about."

You couldn't ask for a better community," Hurl said of the nearly 30,000 group members that help to reunite all kinds of lost and found animals with their owners.

Both Hurl and Ehrhardt are hopeful that Dan's story will inspire others to not lose hope for their lost pet.

I'm very thankful to have him back home," said Ehrhardt. I still can't believe it."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com