Deadly Montecito mudslides separated man and his cat. They reunited nearly 3 years later

The year 2020 was tough. Loss, fear, frustration, loneliness and anxiety seemed to dominate thanks in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic and a nation in turmoil.

As the year drew to a close, many people across Santa Barbara County spent New Year’s Eve saying goodbye to the challenging year, finding creative ways to safely end the year on a high note. For one longtime local, Norm Borgatello, the ending of 2020 was not as important as the beginning of a new chapter with his long-lost cat, Patches.

While many flocked to local beaches, tailgated, met together outdoors or hiked to the highest hilltop to watch the final sunset of 2020, Borgatello made his way to the Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP) in Goleta to reunite with the cat he had been separated from for nearly three years as a result of the Montecito debris flows in January 2018. The reunion would make Patches the last cat out of ASAP in 2020.

Patches, a female calico, was one of several kittens born to a gritty barn cat that for years had lived and thrived on a ranch in San Luis Obispo County. Pregnant and in need of care, the cat was taken to ASAP for care and assistance. After delivering a litter of several kittens, the cat and the kittens received microchips. The mother cat was spayed, and the kittens were adopted by local pet lovers.

Patches and two of her siblings lived in a home on East Valley Road, near San Ysidro Creek, for a couple of years until the morning of Jan. 9, 2018, when a massive debris flow wrecked havoc on Montecito and forever changed the lives of local residents.

On that morning, at the home on East Valley Road where Patches lived with her family, torrential rains fell. The house was rocked by a gas pipe explosion, and the glow of fire lit up the sky.

Before long, a massive flow of water, rocks, mud and other debris made its way down the mountainside and into the home, washing away much of the house and taking the life of Josie Gower, Borgatello’s partner. Borgatello survived the ordeal, but it appeared to him that all three cats also had perished in the disaster.

For weeks following the debris flows, Montecito was locked down and almost deserted. Only a handful of residents remained. Only rescue workers, law enforcement and heavy equipment were allowed back into the area.

In the following months and years, massive cleanup and reconstruction efforts took place on East Valley Road with the clearing of properties, rebuilding of bridges, repair of roads and other infrastructure, and rebuilding of homes. The area wasn’t a safe or hospitable environment for the many animals who had lost their homes in the disaster.

Yet, by some miracle, Patches, the daughter of a hearty, independent and vigilant barn cat, made it through the disaster and aftermath, finding a way to be reunited with Borgatello.

Where exactly Patches has been for the past three years is a mystery.

What is known is that in late December, she appeared at the home of a couple living on Park Lane, less than a quarter-mile from the home she had lived in before the Jan. 9, 2018, disaster. The couple fed and looked after Patches for about a week, wondering if she might return to her other home.

Although they had fallen in love with Patches, they felt it was right to take her to Santa Barbara County Animal Services to see if her owner could be located. Leaving Patches at the shelter on Dec. 29, the couple asked to be notified if Patches became available for adoption.

Once at the animal shelter, Patches was found to have been microchipped, and the chip information showed the registered owner — Gower, now deceased. As with all cats and kittens brought to the shelter, Patches was turned over to ASAP for care, reunification with family or adoption, if necessary.

On duty that day was Becky Morrill, the ASAP operations supervisor. Through a bit of sleuthing and a couple of lucky breaks, she made contact with Gower’s adult children. The family members provided Morrill with contact information for Borgatello, and the last steps of reuniting Patches with him were underway.

Once ASAP made contact with Borgatello, an appointment was set for Dec. 31 for him to reunite with Patches at ASAP. By all accounts, the reunification was joyous for all involved.

“It was a very bright moment in a very dark year,” Morrill said.

“She recognized me right away,” Borgatello said, adding that he was touched and amazed by her memory. He credits Patches’ DNA with her survival abilities and is grateful to the last couple who cared enough for Patches to make her homecoming possible.

Many pieces had to fall into place to make the reunion possible.

Without a microchip, it was unlikely that Patches would have found her way home. The chip, about the size of a grain of rice, was embedded while she was still a kitten. A specialized tool is required to detect the chips. The chip, quick and easy to place, contained the necessary information to locate Borgatello.

Microchips for dogs and cats are not GPS or tracker devices and don’t need to be replaced. They do, however, need to be registered to the pet owner, and the information needs to be updated as circumstances change such as change of address, phone number or change of ownership.

As of Jan. 1, all cats and dogs leaving animal shelters in California must be microchipped, but it’s up to the pet owner to register and keep the microchip information updated. The cost of micro chipping at ASAP is $30.

Local nonprofit agency C.A.R.E.4Paws offers low-cost or free microchipping. According to Morrill, the goal of animal shelters, veterinarians and pet advocacy groups is that all cats and dogs be microchipped, registered and that the registration information be kept up to date, allowing shelter workers to quickly reunite pets with their owners.

“Despite COVID-19, ASAP has continued to be fully functional with safety protocols in place,” Morrill said.

In 2020, ASAP took in about 700 cats and placed about 500 of them.

Borgatello said he is certain that Patches has been receiving care for a while and is delighted to find her in such good physical and emotional shape. They live together in a new home for Patches, but according to Borgatello, she seems unfazed by her new surroundings.

Despite the years of separation, Borgatello said Patches is closer to him than ever.

“She follows me around from room to room,” he said. “Even when I get up in the night for a drink of water, she follows me into the kitchen.”

Maybe 2020 wasn’t so awful after all.

ASAP is a private nonprofit organization contracted by Santa Barbara County to care for, manage, find foster/adoptive homes for kittens and cats brought to the Santa Barbara Humane Society. The staff and volunteers rely on community support and donations to provide the best possible care to cats and to continue their work of reunifying cats with their owners, which they have been able to accomplish at a rate four times higher than the national average. Go to asapcats.org for more information.