US | cat Revealed: The True Story of Willow the Cat Stray was picked up on ski trip, flown to NYC By Matt Cantor Posted Sep 16, 2011 1:06 PM CDT Copied Willow, a calico cat that went missing from her Colorado home during a renovation 5 years ago, stares out from a cage at her temporary home on Sept. 14 in New York's Animal Care and Control facility. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) The mystery cat who took the media by storm this week isn’t such a mystery anymore: An alert reader of Gothamist wrote in to reveal the secret biography of Willow, who turned up in New York years after going missing in Colorado. Turns out the New York Times’ guess was right on the money: After the cat escaped her home in Boulder, a skier visiting Colorado “fell in love with her” and took her home on a plane to New York. Eventually, however, Willow was taken to a shelter “by someone who loved her very much, but was unable to give her all the time and attention she deserves,” the tipster explains. At the shelter, she was identified and traced back to her original owners by her microchip. Soon, she’ll head back to her home in Boulder for the first time in five years. Click through for more on Willow. Read These Next Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. The Bezos-Sanchez wedding: guest list, cost, the dress, and more. Actor Sam Rockwell gets residuals from movie he wasn't in. This is why your cat loves sleeping on its left side. Report an error