Good news in Washington: Lost cat found, winning lottery ticket discovered

In Tacoma, a family got its lost cat back after about four long years. And, yet, he still wants to keep going outside whenever he wants. Meanwhile, in Lynnwood, a woman bought a lottery ticket, forgot about it and then got a welcome surprise when she remembered it and scanned it.

Family cat is back with its Tacoma family after being gone for nearly 4 years

A family cat that was missing for nearly four years is now back home with its Tacoma family, according to a story Sunday in The News Tribune of Tacoma.

The question is, how did it get on the other side of the Tacoma Narrows?

More good news: Community stepped up after Seattle Humane faced urgent pet food shortage

In 2020, a 7-year-old black cat named “Coalie” disappeared while the animal’s family went camping.

The family figured Coalie was either stolen, or attacked by a coyote.

Fast forward four years and 30 miles away, in Key Peninsula, homeowners noticed a black cat wandering around their property in the fall of 2023.

They, sort of, adopted it by feeding it and providing a warm spot to sleep on cold nights.

The News Tribune reported that, one day, a neighbor took Coalie to a vet and found out he was microchipped.

That led to the happy reunion with his beloved family last month.

The family remains curious what Coalie’s life was like for the last four years. They also were shocked Coalie had no injuries and that he wasn’t noticeably any thinner than before.

But, interestingly, Coalie went right back to wanting to spend time both indoors and outdoors, the family said.

“We tried for almost a week to keep him inside,” Becky Knoke said to The News Tribune. “He just screamed and sat at the doors, and tried to rip the cat door off the wall when it was locked.”

Eventually they gave up.

“He’s happier when he can choose whether he wants to be in or out,” Becky Knoke said.

However, those choices brought Coalie back to the local humane society during the weekend of Feb. 16 and 17 after a neighbor got a visit from Coalie on her porch. She thought Coalie was lost, because he didn’t have a collar on. It turns out Coalie had just ripped it off.

$135,000 lottery ticket found, cashed in Lynnwood

A Lynnwood woman nearly missed out on claiming $135,000 she won in Washington’s Lottery.

In a recent press statement, lottery officials reported a Lynnwood mother and master electrician — dubbed M.B. — stopped by a local Fred Meyer one day to grab some groceries for dinner.

On her way out, she bought a “HIT 5” lottery ticket from a vending machine, tucked it away and proceeded to go on about her day.

She forgot about it for months, until her husband reminded her of the ticket.

When she brought the ticket back to the Lottery Vending Machine, she saw the words “See Lottery Regional Office” glow back at her.

She couldn’t believe that her forgotten ticket was a winner, Even more shocking was the receipt showed she had won $135,000.

Lottery officials said in their news release, “both her husband and her son’s eyes grew wide” when they learned what the ticket was worth.

The officials say M.B. used the money to pay off some debt and is now debt free.

More lottery good fortune: A little kitten leads to a big win for a Tacoma man

As Washington’s Lottery explains HIT 5 is a Washington game that replaced Quinto in 2007. Each play is $1. Players pick five numbers between 1 and 42. Players also have the option to let the computer select their numbers, also known as a quick pick. With four winning ball combinations, the more numbers that match those drawn, the more a player will win.

Cash pots start at $100,000 and keep growing until someone matches all five numbers to win, The Everett Daily Herald noted in its telling of M.B.’s story. Last Friday’s cash pot was at $420,000. Odds are 1 in 851,000.

Contributing: Tom Brock, KIRO Newsradio

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.