I once had a wandering black tomcat stay out during a huge snowstorm; worried about him all night. Next morning, as I'm trying to clear huge fluffy drifts from my door, I hear: "Mewww!" *thump*...."Mmewww!" *thump*... This continued for some time, until I see, leaping high above the drifts, a snowcovered black kitty. As he leapt into the air, he would release a piteous 'mew', then would land with a thump deep in the powder, completely disappearing from sight, only to explode upward a moment later. I never saw such a grateful cat as when I plodded over to rescue him and carry him the rest of the way.

He didn't go back out for over a week.