WITH the mysterious disappearance of 19 cats from Glenwood over a period of about three months, the owner of one of the missing cats, who believes the pets are being stolen, has issued a warning to all cat owners to keep their cats in at night
Hayley Wagner’s beloved cat Sanchez went missing on 20 September and says she is convinced her cat, along with many others reported missing in the area, have been stolen for some reason.
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Hayley said she had noticed a number of posts on social media from people reporting missing cats in the Glenwood and Bulwer area. She had asked people to send her details of when and where their cats had gone missing and had been astounded by the response.
“I had reports of 19 cats that went missing from July until now, and this is just from Glenwood and Bulwer. These are all beautiful cats that have just vanished. It doesn’t make any sense, “ she said.
Last week someone posts a photograph on Facebook showing food pellets that had been scattered down the front steps of a home in Lena Ahrens Road, which Hayley suspects is how some cats are being lured from their homes.
She said her cats never wandered far from her home and only ever strolled as far as the garage roof of the neighbouring property where the caretaker knew them and was aware that they liked to lie on the roof.
“The caretaker said he hadn’t seen Sanchez since the day before he went missing. It doesn’t make sense, as they never go further than that, and always come home to sleep without fail. Our pets are all microchipped, neutered and spayed. They are like our children, “ she said.
She said her other cat, Finn, went missing a few days later, but had returned in an agitated state. “He came flying back into the house and lay with his chest heaving. He bolted and hid in the house and later went out and sat on the garage roof. He was very alert and wired. He had a huge cut on his head and yelped when I touched his back. I spoke to my gardener to see if he had heard of anyone who could be stealing cats from the area, but he said he hadn’t heard anything. There’s definitely something going on, it’s beyond a joke, “ she said.
Hayley has been in contact with all SPCAs, spoken to DSW to see if anyone had picked up a cat, visited local vets, posted on Facebook and in Berea Mail and put flyers in postboxes, but no one has seen her cat.
“Sanchez is like our child. We are in mourning. I have sobbed so much about this. In my heart of hearts I know I’m wasting my time but I’m living in hope someone will see him. Sanchez and all the other 19 cats reported missing have just disappeared without a trace, no one has seen anything. I just want to make people aware that they must lock their cats in at night,” she said.
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Niki Moore from Cats of Durban also reported four of her cats that have gone missing over the past five months.
“I am involved in cat welfare work and as a result I have adopted a number of adult cats that would otherwise have been homeless. However, over the last few months a number of my cats have gone missing in extremely strange circumstances, leading me to believe, very reluctantly, that someone is actually targeting or stealing my cats,” she said.
Niki said the last straw was when a pedigreed cat, a Somali that was given to her by a family that was emigrating, went missing on 31 August.
“Over the last few months, four of my cats have vanished. In all cases they were strikingly beautiful cats. I had not had them very long when they disappeared during the day. They were not wandering cats, they had all been sterilised and vaccinated, and were all tame and friendly. I cannot understand how they could all have vanished so completely. One moment they are there, the next they have gone without a trace. In all cases I have notified the neighbours, contacted the SPCA, put up posters and gone searching,” she said.
Hayley and Niki are offering rewards for the return of their cats.
Contact Hayley on 074 619 3881 and Niki on 071 932 8925.
