Mystery Solved

How Colorado Cat Traveled to NYC

Missing Willow turned up five years later.

Last week, the story of Willow the cat—who, five years after she went missing in Colorado, turned up in New York City—had people wondering how, exactly, she made the journey. A reader writes to New York–based website Gothamist with a possible answer: “I had Willow (a.k.a. Molly) for 3 months, while her N.Y. owner was away for work.” This person claims that her friend adopted Willow after encountering her as a stray on a trip to Colorado and then flew back with her to New York City. The tipster provides a photo of a cat who appears to be Willow to back up her story. She says her friend ended up handing Willow over to a shelter after he was “unable to give her all the time and attention she deserves.”