Willow is back home. The 14-year old, 19-pound calico cat was in Jennifer Carl’s car when it was stolen from a gas station in Harrison a week ago. On Thursday, after a big media and social media campaign, she was found in Newark.
Carl was out searching with a group of volunteers when someone saw Willow. “I then saw her and was like, that’s her, and she kind of had her tail up and was looking around and I could tell that she could hear me and was looking for me but was still really confused by all the other people,” said Carl, “and so I just sat out there with the trap and we got her some salmon, which is her favorite.”
Carl said they had to be careful not to make Willow run away. “I just sat there with her for maybe half an hour and then I just said, come on, like I usually do, and she came out, and I picked her up and I put her in the carrier, and one of the volunteers drove me home and here we are,” said Carl. “It’s really amazing. I’m in shock.”
Carl said the 19-pound cat was fine. “She’s lost a few pounds but again she was huge, so she could stand to lose a few,” she said. “She’s okay, obviously I’m gonna take her to the vet, gonna get her microchipped, gonna put a damn GPS in her at this point.”
Carl said the people who helped her find Willow are part of an operation called trap-neuter-release. They capture feral cats, have them neutered to cut down on the number of stray cats, and release them outside since they are not social enough to be adopted. Carl said she will give them the reward money she raised.