COEUR d'ALENE - A stack of rolled up rubber mats in the Kootenai County dump's equipment yard might not sound like paradise to some.

But to one notoriously shy tabby, it was a home worth braving freeways and one-way streets to snuggle into.

"I've never heard of cats doing this before," said Assistant Manager Cathy Slinger on Tuesday, gazing at the rubber mats where a fuzzy body lolled.

But there was no other explanation for the return of Shy Guy, the dump's unofficial feline mascot, except that after being taken home by an employee last week, it had run away and crossed several miles to return to the facility where the staff had nurtured it every day.

"He certainly has an endless supply of food here," Slinger said with a laugh, adding that the cat has become a reliable mouser. "I think this is just all he knows."

There could be more to that.

Maybe he just likes it there.

Slinger was the first to stumble across the cat 14 months ago living in a culvert by the dump, she said, clearly abandoned by its owner.

The animal with a healthy brown and black coat and shining yellow eyes bolted or hid whenever a figure came near.

But Slinger, a devoted animal lover and owner of tarantulas, fish and dogs, wasn't giving up that easy.

"I felt sorry for him, and I wanted to give him some lovin'," she said, adding that she would approach him or feed him part of her lunch every day. "I was on a mission to get him not to be shy."

Eventually Shy Guy, named for obvious reasons, allowed Slinger and other female staff to hold and pet him (they say he prefers women).

Slinger arranged a bed of blankets for him in the equipment yard, and started every morning by checking on him. The rest of the day, staff played with him and snuck him food.

"He has three or four staff people taking care of him," Slinger said, adding that one employee even washed his blankets. "It was just something to look forward to every day at work."

Monica Snook, dump spotter, said she knows all his favorite spots to sun himself or roll down a hill.

"I think that all animals relieve a lot of stress," Snook said in the equipment yard on Tuesday, watching the cat perch on some equipment. "We all deal a lot with the public. For me, I come back here and talk to him, and it just brightens my day."

Worries for Shy Guy's safety arose when coyotes made appearances nearby, Slinger said.

The staff eventually agreed that employee Chris Weppner would take him home.

Slinger admitted her eyes teared up when she said goodbye last week.

"He's part of the crowd. Part of the dump family," said Slinger, who explained she couldn't take the cat because of her roommate's allergies.

Weppner agreed to take him home Thursday, and Slinger figured she wouldn't see the cat again.

Yet on Saturday, when she strolled to the equipment yard to remove the cat's bed, she was surprised by what she found: Shy Guy curled up.

"He was skinny, tired and a little bit skittish," she said.

When she called Weppner, he reported that after he drove the cat home on Thursday, Shy Guy had bolted out of his hands, tore out the open door and hadn't been back since.

"I said, 'I think he was in transit on Friday, because he showed up here,'" Slinger said.

As Weppner lives in downtown Coeur d'Alene, she added, the cat had to cross the freeway and a busy one-way street to return.

"I just wonder how he knew (how to get back)," she said. "Maybe he heard the beeping of the loader."

Even though Shy Guy - now nicknamed Lucky Guy - is back chasing mice, the staff is still requesting that someone adopt the cat.

"I don't want him gone, but I don't want him to be coyote bait, either," Slinger said. "Besides, this isn't much of a life, being a dump cat."

Anyone interested can contact Slinger at 691-9945, or visit the transfer station at 3650 N. Ramsey Road.

Slinger assured the cat is friendly.

"You might want to keep him inside at first, though," Slinger said.