Masterton’s Lara Hooper would would love to reunited with her missing cats Zhivy, left, and Sage. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
By Chelsea Boyle
Lara Hooper has been desperately searching for her missing cats since mid-April, and she’s not the only Bentley St resident whose beloved pet has vanished.
She says at least six cats have either gone missing or been found dead recently in the Masterton street.
On April 15, Mrs Hooper’s tri-coloured cat Sage “just disappeared” and did not return home to be fed in the evening.
“She doesn’t go far from home,” she said.
“Because she is one of these cats that likes to snuggle up with the kids.”
The family searched everywhere but could not find her.
Things only got worse when their other cat Zhivy disappeared not long after.
“Both of our two cats we have had for over a year, and they have never, ever strayed away from home.
“We have searched all the way along the railway tracks, we have searched all through the bushes, and there is no sign of them.
“They have completely vanished.”
A few days later, another Bentley St resident, who did not wish to be named, found her own pet cat under the hedge in a bad state.
She took her cat to the vet and had to have her put down.
The cat had no broken bones, and did not show any other sign that would indicate she had been hit by a car.
After running a test, the vet explained the cat had probably eaten rat poison.
Speaking to others in the area, the owner learned that a couple of young cats had also been found dead, but she was not quite sure what to make of the situation.
She thought the recent bad weather might have put something in the waterways.
“There are a lot of cats on this street.
“I certainly wasn’t suspicious,” she said.
“I’m lucky because I know what happened to mine . . . at least I found her, I knew what was happening and I was able to have her put down so she wasn’t suffering.”
However, the whole situation has left Mrs Hooper fearful.
She knows of at least six cats that have either gone missing or been found dead recently.
After door-knocking, dropping off flyers in the area, and checking in with nearby businesses, she is shocked that she has not found a single trace of her cats.
“To not even find one of them, lying in the gutter maybe . . . They have just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
After being told that cats do not tend to eat rat poison unless it is hidden in food she is concerned it could be foul play.
“We are fearing for our animals, we don’t want to let them out anywhere, because this is just getting ridiculous.”
1 week for my friends cat, Oscar, from high street, Masterton. He’s a brown short-haired Persian.
The cats pictured look simmilar to the 2 that came up to me at robinson park next to a1 takeaway
I’m missing a Grey cat from central Masterton. Also out of character for her. Been missing for about 3 weeks now.