Updated

A cat whose owners thought was lost spent nearly three weeks crossing the Pacific Ocean in a shipping container with no food or water — and appears to be fine.

The voyage began after Pamela Escamilla lost sight of her 3-year-old calico, Spice, while packing a large container with household goods in Hawaii.

The container was shipped June 15 to California. Escamilla, 39, and her husband could not find the cat before taking their flight and asked neighbors to call if Spice returned.

The cat spent 18 days in the pitch-black container without food or water as it crossed the Pacific before arriving at the home of Escamilla's parents on Tuesday.

When Escamilla opened the container, she and family members noticed fluffs of cat hair on the floor. Escamilla climbed into the container to search.

"I saw (Spice) poke her head out from behind some bicycles, and I started to scream," Escamilla said. She took the cat to the veterinarian, who said its kidneys had shrunk and its bowels were backed up, but the prognosis was good.

"It's always a good day when the cat's alive," said Escamilla. "We didn't know what we would find."