Colo. cat, missing 5 years, is found on NYC street

NEW YORK (AP) — A calico cat named Willow, who disappeared from a home near the Rocky Mountains five years ago, was found Wednesday on a Manhattan street and will soon be returned to a family in which two of the three kids and one of the two dogs may remember her.

How she got to New York, nearly 1,800 miles away, and the kind of life she lived in the city are mysteries.

But thanks to a microchip implanted when she was a kitten, Willow will be reunited in Colorado with her owners, who had long ago given up hope.

"To be honest, there are tons of coyotes around here, and owls," said Jamie Squires, of Boulder. "She was just a little thing, five and a half pounds. We put out the 'Lost Cat' posters and the Craigslist thing, but we actually thought she'd been eaten by coyotes."

Squires and her husband, Chris, were "shocked and astounded" when they got a call Wednesday from Animal Care & Control, which runs New York City's animal rescue and shelter system.

Willow had been found on East 20th Street by a man who took her to a shelter.

"My husband said, 'Don't say anything to the kids yet. We have to make sure,'" Squires said. "But then we saw the picture, and it was Willow. It's been so long."

ACC Executive Director Julie Bank said a scanner found the microchip that led to the Squires family.

"All our pets are microchipped," Squires said. "If I could microchip my kids, I would."

The children are 17, 10 and 3 years old, so the older two remember Willow, Squires said. As for the 3-year-old, "She saw the photo and said, 'She's a pretty cat.'"

The Squireses also have a yellow Labrador named Roscoe, who knew Willow, and an English mastiff named Zoe.

"We had another dog back then, too, and I remember that Willow would lie with them as they all waited to be fed," Squires said. "She thought she was a dog."

Squires said Willow escaped in late 2006 or early 2007 when contractors left a door open during a home renovation.

Since then, the family had moved about 10 miles from Broomfield to Boulder, but it kept its address current with the microchip company.

Bank recommended that all pet owners use microchips.

She said Willow, who now weighs 7 pounds, is healthy and well-mannered and probably has not spent her life on the mean streets of Manhattan. But there are no clues about her trip east or anything else in the five years she's been missing.

Squires seemed a bit worried about a possible New York state of mind.

"I don't know what kind of life she's had, so I don't know what her personality will be like," she said. When Willow disappeared, she said, "She was a really cool cat, really sweet."

The ACC and the Squireses were trying to arrange for transportation back to Colorado and health certificates and said it might be two weeks before the reunion. Willow may spend some time with a foster family in New York.

"The kids can't wait to see her," Squires said. "And we still have her little Christmas stocking"

Hunter and his massages.

I know how much Hunter likes a massage so when I was on E-Bay I noticed a pet brush, that fits over your hand and you slip your fingers into finger loops so I ordered two and they came in the mail and I opened the package because Hunter was roaming about and I started brushing him and while I was brushing him he turns around and looks at me with a smile on his face saying, “oh, oh, oh, oh Dad that feels sooooooo good.” He walked into the house and was snacking on his dry food and I continued brushing him and he loved every minute of it. He lifts his head at an angle and soaks it in, aahh and his body sinks lower and lower.

Hunter and another visit to the vet.

Hunter went to the vet’s again. He’s been lethargic for a few days and not eating his wet food and then Sunday he didn’t attempt to eat the tuna in water I put out. Unfortunately I got a large bill from the vet and he said “he’s healthy” yes he gained 1 ½ pounds in 3 months so I guess he is. He can be a chore to pick up and even worse when I tried to put him in the animal carrier. Spreads his back feet far and wide thinking I cannot push him in, “I am not going into this thing peacefully Dad,” then he turns around and comes right back out.

Cried all the way over and back and this time the orange tiger cat was there but there was also a kitten with large paws who came and sniffed Hunter out and Hunter just stared at it. The vet took some blood from Hunter and a sample will be flown to NJ and will have the test results back in the morning by eight o’clock. He’s laying on the floor by my desk so I’ll presume he has forgiven me about his earlier misery at my hands. I’ve waited to post because I wanted the feedback from the test which proved to be negative. The vet told me that I shouldn’t feed him fish because it could cause a urinary trac infection and that I shouldn’t offer him milk. I told Hunter and he said “Dad is the vet trying to starve me?” “I could waste away to nothing”

A shadow!

When I am outside I feel like I have a shadow following me. If Hunter is in the front yard when I come out of the house he will follow me to the backyard where I grow plants that I raise and he will roll in the dirt or mush up against my legs while I am watering. When I go back to the front yard he’ll follow me there and if I sit in a chair he will jump up and sit down on the chair behind me.

Hunter and the rain spots.

I was outside one day after it rained and my vehicle, a black RAV4, was parked in the driveway and it had been rained on and water spots were still on the vehicle and Hunter jumped up onto the hood, of course leaving brown foot prints on the hood and on the windshield as he wound his way onto the roof. For some reason he likes sleeping on the roof. Then he decided to get down and he tried climbing down on the drivers side and his front paws slipped on the rain spots and he backed off, then went to the middle of the windshield and tried going down that and you could see his front paws slipping down the windshield and he backed off then he tried the passenger side and again he paws were slipping on the rain spots and again he backed off then decided to go to the back and laid down. I presume he jumped off the back when he got down. It was funny watching his paws slipping in the rain spots and he no control over what his paws did.

Come on Dad, wakeup!

For some reason Hunter has been coming into the bedroom crying at 6:00 A.M. waking me up, even on weekends. I don’t have clue what has gotten into him unless he wants his fresh milk ASAP. Sometimes he’ll hop onto the bed and lay on my feet or climb up to my face and lay down. Nothing like me dragging around in the morning even after cups of coffee but then he sacks out on my bed until lunch time, then he waltz’s into my room, yawns and stretches and says, “good nap Dad.” It drives me so crazy that I could choke him.

Another sleepless night!

After going to bed Hunter came in crying, which meant he caught something and all through the night he kept chasing whatever he brought in with him waking me every so often, like hitting his head on the mattress boards. Then he proceeded to sleep away the rest of the morning when I am still sleep walking, even after drinking three cups of coffee. Granted I am proud of him bringing something to show me, I couldn’t find anything after I got out of bed to learn the cause of the ruckus, but darn it I just wish he wasn’t so loud in announcing his catch. Another blown Saturday.