A lost Colorado cat is found five years later — in NYC

by Emily, Petfinder Foundation vp, development

A cat who went missing from her family’s home in Colorado has turned up five years later — in New York City. And it’s all thanks to the lucky cat’s microchip.

Like Willow, Kourtney is a calico at the ACC — but she’s adoptable.

The cat, a calico named Willow, got out after contractors left a door open during a home renovation. Her family, the Squires, posted signs and an online “lost pet” ad, but eventually assumed she’d been killed by coyotes.

But last week, Willow was found wandering a Manhattan street and brought to Animal Care & Control of NYC, where her microchip was scanned. AC&C staffers called Willow’s family immediately.

The Associated Press reports:

[Jamie] 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.”

We’ll never know how Willow ended up in New York, but there’s no doubt why she’ll go home: Because her family had her implanted with a microchip and made sure they registered the chip with their contact information.

Registering
your microchip with a pet-recovery database and keeping your contact information up-to-date is crucial to have your pet returned to you if he or she is ever lost.

Willow was lucky: According to a study of pets who enter shelters as strays, only 2% of cats are returned home — although that number jumps to nearly 40% for microchipped cats. Why aren’t all microchipped pets returned home? Because for many, the chip has not been registered with up-to-date owner contact information (learn more).

Petfinder recommends pet parents register their chips with HomeAgain, which offers unlimited free updates for the life of the pet.

Learn more about the benefits of HomeAgain membership.

Learn more about HomeAgain.

Learn more about how microchipping works.

More about this story:

NYPost.com: Cat was having time of her ‘lives’ in New York City

Associated Press: Willow, Missing Colorado Cat, Found in New York City Streets

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