Not that I'd ever recommend such an event, but if ever there were a Cat-ditarod, I'd put my money (not that I recommend gambling, either) on Jimmy, an 8-year old feline from northwest Montana, who recently trekked 180 miles through some pretty rugged terrain to get back home.

According to a story that originally appeared in the weekly Valley Journal and was later picked up by the Missoulian, the cat originally lived with Maxine DeSaussure in Pablo, Mont.

When Maxine died, her daughter Traci Paile brought Jimmy back to her home in Babb, 180 miles northeast and up near the Canadian border.

Always an independent sort, Jimmy soon disappeared.

Forty-five days had passed when Vaile got a call from the new resident of Maxine's former home -- 180 miles away, across the Continental Divide and on the other side of Glacier National Park -- who said Jimmy had just come up the driveway and crawled under the house.

After some discussion, it was decided to let the cat stay in Pablo. The new resident of the home agreed to feed him; and Vaile figured, after the determination that cat had shown, that it was not Babb at all, but Pablo, where Jimmy wanted to be.