CODY — Nearly three years after disappearing during a road trip stop in Wyoming, a missing house cat has made an unlikely journey back to her New York family.
Before Annie and Chris Rosales had children, they had their rescue cat, named Lily.
“She was like our first baby, and we were pretty obsessed with her,” said Chris Rosales.
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Lily was a vital member of their family. In 2023, they decided to move from their home in San Francisco to New York City. They embarked on a cross-country road trip in an RV with their young daughter, another baby on the way, and their two cats. One of their stops along the way was near Cody to visit Yellowstone National Park, where they stayed with friends.
“Yellowstone was this amazing, beautiful place, and it was our favorite stop there," said Chris. "The trip was at a peak."
But that high point quickly gave way to heartbreak.
As the family drove away through Montana, they realized Lily was gone. Somehow, she had slipped out of their RV.
The couple rushed back and searched through the night. At one point, they even spotted her in the early morning hours, which offered a glimmer of hope. They stayed an extra day, calling for her and searching the property where they had been staying.
Still, they could not catch her.
"It was so hard leaving. We had to just keep going on the trip, though," said Annie Rosales. "But I was very confident that I was just going to be coming right back in like, a week or something."
The friends they stayed with said stray cats often stay around the area, so as they continued their journey to New York without her, they held onto hope.
But months passed, then years. The chances of finding Lily again seemed to fade. The friends with whom they stayed eventually moved from the property. Chris even sent a letter to the new owners, telling them to be on the lookout for their lost pet.
"We always had hope, but we kind of just stopped bugging that house," said Chris.
Then, two and a half years later, a message from a Wyoming phone number changed everything.
About 3.5 miles from where Lily was last seen, Jack and Rebecca Deal had recently moved into a home near Cody. Not long after, they began noticing stray cats on their property and started leaving food out.
One cat, in particular, stood out.
“We fed her for two months before we ever saw her,” said Rebecca Deal.
When they finally got a closer look, they noticed the cat was wearing a collar.
"We noticed she had a collar, and it looked like it was tight,” said Jack Deal. "We didn't know it was a female. Brooke (their daughter) had named it Chester, so we thought it was our cat."
The cat was shy and elusive. In February, the couple set a trap and eventually caught her, calling the number on the collar. At first, they couldn’t reach anyone and even posted photos in local Facebook groups, assuming the cat belonged to someone nearby.
The cat was eager to get out, so they let her go. Their neighbor, Mark, tried texting a photo to the number. They were shocked to discover who the cat belonged to.
“The cat was gone two and a half years, and we were like shocked when she told us that,” said Rebecca.
The number led to the Rosales family in New York, left in shock. It was Lily.
“Right away, I recognize this cat," said Chris. "From their perspective, they figured, 'Oh, this, whose cat is this? They must be looking for him,' and they weren't expecting like, 'Yeah, we're in New York. It's been two years. We've missed this cat.'"
"You're like, hysterical, laughing and crying at the same time, because it was just so unbelievable," said Annie.
Catching Lily again proved to be another challenge. After she avoided traps, the Deals and Mark got creative, eventually capturing her at the beginning of March using a makeshift setup with tuna fish, a drop-down enclosure, and some string.
Back in New York, the Rosales family anxiously waited for updates.
“The poor people, they were stressed out," said Jack. "They weren't sure we were going to."
"And we did,” added Rebecca.
As soon as they got the news, Annie booked a flight to Wyoming the next day, despite the couple having a vacation planned to Arizona that weekend.
When she arrived, Lily was waiting.
"(The Deals) picked me up at the airport with Lily in the car, and so I saw her right away," said Annie. "All three of us, I think, were crying. You're just kind of laughing because it was just like, this is unbelievable."
Annie said that despite the time apart, Lily quickly recognized her.
"She was rubbing up against me and purring. It was so amazing," she said. "I told every single person who asked me anything about the cat carrier, I was like, you're not gonna believe what just happened."
Lily survived the harsh Wyoming wilderness and winters, but how remains a mystery. The conditions were far from the California conditions she was used to.
“She's an outdoor cat in San Francisco, so she knows how to deal with like pigeons and raccoons, but like not hawks and coyotes," said Chris.
“She's very wary. That's probably how she survived two and a half years, because this place is full of coyotes and mountain lions," said Jack. "That cat, really, it was blessed and protected to survive two and a half years out here."
Back in New York, Lily is now an indoor cat and recently celebrated her eighth birthday on Sunday. She's quickly reacquainted with their daughter, now five years old, and their other cat, Klay. Lily has now met their son. Annie said she seems more affectionate than ever and shows no desire to go back outside.
"I just look at her all the time, and I'm like, 'I wish you could just tell me what happened, like what have you been doing? How did you eat?'" said Annie.
It’s a tale only Lily knows.
“We were kind of like, 'Oh, she's going to be pissed that we're taking her from beautiful Wyoming to the Bronx,” joked Chris. "But she's been pretty happy inside.”
For the Deals, the experience was just as meaningful. After recently losing their two Great Danes to cancer, they said helping reunite Lily with her family felt like fate. They’ve since adopted a cat of their own, named Shadow.
“It's a God thing. Lord's hands were in this. It was a blessing that that cat survived, and then found its way back to its family," said Jack. "We're just glad that we've got to be a part of it. It's been a lot of fun."
"We met some new friends in New York," added Rebecca.
The Rosales family said they’re grateful it was the Deals who found Lily.
"It took so much energy to get Lily," said Annie. "If she went up to anyone else's porch, we probably don't get her back."
After thousands of miles, years apart and countless unknowns, Lily’s journey has come full circle.
"Just so nice that people are still doing really nice things for strangers," said Annie. "It's just a happy story.”
