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NYC's Favorite Transplant/Tourist Is Willow The Cat!
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 16, 2011
Modified Sep 16, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 16, 2011
Modified Sep 16, 2011
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The nearly 2,000-mile journey that a little calico cat made from Colorado to the Big Apple has captured everyone's imagination—even Mayor Bloomberg's! During a press conference yesterday, Bloomberg was asked about Willow, the cat found on a Manhattan street who turned out to be a cat who went missing five years ago from her Colorado family's home. Bloomberg waxed philosophic, “I think what it does show is that everybody, in the end, wants to come and live in New York. Now, cats reputedly have nine lives, and [Willow] clearly wanted to spend at least one of them here in New York City. I just don’t know what [she] was waiting for.”
Willow escaped from the Squires family in Colorado when a door was left open during a renovation project. The family thought a coyote ate her, so they were shocked when NYC's Animal Care and Control called to say their cat was in Manhattan (apparently a man found Willow on East 20th Street and brought her to a shelter, where her microchip was found). ACC's Julie Bank says Willow most likely had human care, since the feline wasn't injured, “Instead, she’s chunky. She’s got weight on her. Her coat looks good. No fleas, no injuries. She’s been fed.” Update September 16: It appears that Willow left Colorado...by plane (and some human help).
Like our commenters, experts are wondering how Willow got here. The NY Times offers the leading theories: Maybe she walked (but why go somewhere she didn't know? how did she get across the Mississippi?); maybe she hitched a ride via car or train; or, most likely, maybe someone just scooped her up in Colorado and brought her to New York.
Willow will be appearing on Anderson Cooper's new daytime talk show. In a preview of the segment, Cooper virtually reunited Willow with her family:
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Update September 16: It appears that Willow left Colorado...by plane (and some human help).
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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