This is the story of Willow, the cat who went rogue.
According to the Associated Press, Willow disappeared five years ago, when she ran away from her home in Broomfield, Colo., near the Rocky Mountains. Though the Squires family put up lost and found posters and Craigslist ads, they thought Willow was lost forever — even possibly eaten by coyotes. Turns out, they vastly underestimated her.
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Apparently, in the five years since she was last known to be seen, Willow had somehow made her way from Colorado to Manhattan, over 1,800 miles away. Her whereabouts weren’t known until Wednesday, when she was found on the East Side by a good Samaritan and taken to a nearby shelter. Employees at Animal Care and Control were then able to trace Willow back to her original owners due to a microchip the Squires family had had implanted in her.
It’s unclear how Willow was able to make the long journey across the country, though it’s unlikely that she faced much discomfort. Richard Gentles, a spokesman for Animal Care, told Reuters that Willow was “in very good condition, clean, a little chunky. So obviously someone was taking care of her.” And since she’s being returned to her home in Colorado with the Squires family once she passes a screening for diseases, Willow will continue to be cared for.
Unfortunately for us, we might never know exactly what Willow was up to during her time off the grid.
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