"I messed up and accidentally sold my girlfriend's cat," a Portland, Ore., man named Roy Dufek posted on Reddit earlier this month. "While she was at work I helped her out by selling the two beds she had in her apartment because we were going to use my better beds that I had at my house. Little did I know when the cat is scared it hides inside the box spring."

So poor little Camo, a 5-year-old tabby, was strapped to the roof of a car along with the mattress. Although Dufek quickly realized what had happened, it was too late to chase down the vehicle and get Camo back.

Dufek's girlfriend, Hayley Crews, was "absolutely crushed."

"Camo was her world and I was the one who took that away from her days before Christmas of all times of the year," Dufek wrote.

The couple called up the buyer of the mattress, who lived 5 miles away, and searched their house, but they couldn't find Camo anywhere.

After 10 days of intensive searching, though, Camo is finally back home.

The Oregonian reports that Dufek and Crews got a tip that the kitty had been sighted near the airport, so they set up a cat trap Saturday night, baited with sardines and familiar-smelling clothes from their apartment.

When they checked back 90 minutes later, Camo had taken the bait. And luckily, he was in pretty good shape after his 10 days in the wild.

From the Oregonian:

Dufek said Camo had lost about two pounds and was a mess. He had a cut lip, several broken nails, bleeding paws and a partially closed eye but no serious injuries.

"He spent the night getting up several times eating and drinking and was taken to the vet this morning. The vet gave him an antibiotic shot, a good inspection. .... Hayley gave him a bath and he's been cleaning himself vigorously since. All is good."

It's the best Christmas present the couple could have asked for.

"It's the best feeling in the world to know friends and strangers alike have had our back in time of need, and to have him back safe and recovering," they wrote in an update on Reddit.

[Photo: Roy Dufek/Reddit]