Bazza missing from Chester since 16/3/10

[Tiggy's Mum]

 

I think he would recognise you and you would recognise him if the look-alike was him  I know it must seem like a lifetime but don't give up hope as cats can and do come home after much longer 

[BazandGem]

6 months this morning since I realized Baz was missing 

There's a big tabby that first appeared in our garden the night after Baz vanished - I've often wondered if it won a fight with him and he's been pushed out into some other area. There's a cat up the road (about 30 houses away and on the opposite side of the road) that is the spitting image of him, I've had a reasonably good look at it twice and I'm sure it isn't him but I still go past that way at least once a day to see if I can get another look. It just seems unlikely that he'd really be that nearby and not know where home is 

[Tiggy's Mum]

That's awful  Try not to dwell on it though, don't give up on Bazza being out there somewhere 

[BazandGem]

Still no news. I have just heard the most horrific thing about another cat who went missing in May from about a mile away - the cat was 18 years old, spent his days sunning himself on the front garden/driveway. He's been found, dead, having been shot multiple times with a pellet gun and then mauled by a dog. Sick 

This is what I've been dreading hearing about Baz since he went missing -finding out he'd been hit by a car would've been a million times better and I just feel so sorry for the owners and absolutely livid that this kind of thing goes on and probably they'll never be found or punished. I'm trying to find out where the cat was found just in case there are any others in the same area.

 

[Janeyk]

Best of luck with this new set of posters 

[BazandGem]

Having seen the photos (thanks Tiggy's Mum for emailing them to me), it isn't Baz - although it does look a lot like him.

I'm going to go out with hubby this week to re-poster some of the streets near our house (lots of them are getting a bit soggy in spite of plastic or have been torn down recently), in case it jogs someone's memory/somebody realises they are harbouring a runaway 

I guess Rossi has me to himself for a little while longer.

Gem x

[nicter]

Think you might mean this post. This puddys in hull and story fits what youve said Good luck
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2512845&page=2

[BazandGem]

Just had a "tip off" from Tiggy's Mum about a post elsewhere online, I've asked them to repost the photo as it's been taken off the thread that was started there. She is taking the cat to the vet this afternoon as well apparently so may even be on her way to get it scanned as we speak.

It's in Hull so a long way from us, but who knows how far Baz could've got in almost three months. I haven't heard anything locally in at least a couple of weeks, and have a feeling the cat everyone was convinced was Bazza may not have been him at all (some thought it had white paws), so he could really be anywhere from a couple of streets away to the other side of the country by now 

Ah well, fingers crossed I get a reply soon from the lady in Hull.

Gem x

[BazandGem]

Sooty, the black & white cat, turned up at home last night - his owner rang to let me know. Two of the other cats missing nearby are also now home. Just Baz still out there wandering somewhere

I just heard a couple of lads talking about the poster that's outside our house, one was insisting he'd just seen Baz but his mate didn't think he had. Wish I'd gone out to talk to them but my hubby's out and TBH we don't have the nicest of youths wandering around and it's dark... so I'm just keeping everything crossed he rings me about it. The poster does say we're offering a reward so hopefully the money will persuade him to call!

Rossi (new cat) is coming tomorrow so I'll post some pics of him in the cats stories section when I have some.

Gem.

[BazandGem]

This is Sootyhttp://www.nationalpetregister.org/mpi.php?pet=22356 the owner hasn't put a pic on but a good description.

We're going back to see the little ginger cat again at tea-time today, he was a bit nervous of us yesterday so we're hoping if we're there at the same time as food he'll be a bit more welcoming! Played with him with his dangly toy for almost an hour, and managed a quick stroke, but I think he'll take a while to be trusting of people. He has spent 4 weeks living in the foster carer's summerhouse and can see her own two cats wandering around their patio, so I'm sure he'd be very happy with our back garden, just need to be sure he likes us enough to come back home again!

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

If he gets a post on the NPR I will send him the list ... everyone that posts get a reply from me 

[BazandGem]

Ooh I didn't think about the hints & tips list - he phoned from his house so I don't have his email address. But I told him to put a photo on the National Pet Register site so when the ad's on there I'll send him a link to it (in fact Sam I think you emailed the list to me when I first posted Bazza's details on there  )

The cat we're seeing tomorrow was found in a garden the other side of town, he's only about 5/6 months old. Baz also turned up in a garden before the rescue took him in, so it seems right to continue the trend - they'll have something in common to "discuss" when they meet!

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Sorry to hear Bazza is still AWOL   But the fact that people are still looking and contacting you is good. 

Glad you were able to help the other chap with hints on how to find his kitty - did you send him the list of hints and tips?

I'm sure you new little furry will love you ... cats aren't daft ... they know good people when they meet them and I have no doubt he will settle in fine and I'm sure when Bazza does eventually come home they will get on OK as long as you introduction them slowly.

Looking forward to seeing apiccie of your new housemate when he arrives.

Keep up the positive vibes and hopefully Bazza will be home soon xxx

[BazandGem]

Still no Bazza 

We've had a few more calls in different locations again, unfortunately nobody has been able to catch the cats they've seen so I have no idea which, if any, of them actually is him! However there is an article in the local paper this week with a big photo of him, about the fact there are several cats missing in the area at the moment. Interestingly there haven't been any hoax calls (yet) so people do seem to be really trying to help when they ring.

I had a call from another guy whose cat is missing nearby asking who I'd contacted and for any advice - I think I need to set up a lost and found advice line!

Going to look at a little cat tomorrow as we're both missing having a purry furry person around the house - he's quite a gentle little chap I believe so should be OK if/when Bazza decides he wants to come back to his fireside rug  We never got a second cat before because the rescue said he wasn't good with other animals, but they were wrong about some other things so with hindsight think it's probably going to be fine.

fingers crossed the little guy likes us!

Gem x

[Janeyk]

hope you have good news soon 

[BazandGem]

No sightings of Baz for almost a week now - hoping no news is good news 

On the plus side, all 4 feral kittens, some of the adult cats and several pregnant ones have been trapped now - including one who they think will have complications during the birth of her kittens so she will now be in the right place to get the care she needs rather than suffering out in the wild. Some of the people in the houses have said they'd prefer the cats to be rehomed somewhere safer (away from the railway and busy A-road), but unless everyone agrees to that, and they can actually find somewhere new to put the colony, the adults will be returned to the area once they're all neutered.

Anna is doing a spring newsletter which includes a bit on Baz so hopefully that will prompt somebody to report any sightings of him

I had a bit of a cry last night, feeling more down than usual as I have a nasty cold, and usually Baz would come and sit with me until he knew I felt better  He spent almost a whole 36 hours with me when I had food poisoning a couple of years ago and could only get out of bed to go to the bathroom - I'm convinced he would never willingly leave me so that really just leaves the question, has he been stolen and taken away, was he picked up and carried down the road then got away but didn't know how to get home, or did he have a fight with another cat/dog/fox and again has ended up out of his home territory.

[Janeyk]

Good luck!    the neighbours sound good and I can understand them, I love my ferals to the point I couldn't bear to leave them (they're loved by my neighbour too)

[BazandGem]

He's certainly been giving us the runaround - if/when he comes home he's going to have to stay in for a good few weeks I think so he doesn't get any ideas about wandering off again 

Trapping arranged for tomorrow, so we'll see who's attracted into it by the smell of whatever stinky catfood Anna brings along! The homeowner is also happy for the feral ones to be neutered on the proviso that they are brought back afterwards - she and her neighbours like feeding them and having them around - just whatever kittens may come from any pregnant cats will be tamed and fostered/adopted Having spoken to the homeowner yesterday, I found out the whole colony sprang from one little kitten who appeared a few years ago - she tried to catch her but the kitty had other ideas and is now the matriarch of a whole big family!

we haven't actually seen the cat that everyone things is Baz yet - my husband says that whatever longhaired tabby they find, we'll keep unless it does actually belong to someone else - not sure how Baz would feel about arriving back of his own accord and finding a lookalike sleeping by his fireplace though...

[Kay and Penny]

he's a little tinker, and no mistake

bet he doesn't get told off either when he finally allows himself to be fetched home :evillaugh:l

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Hope you are able to catch Mr Bazza soon 

It sounds like he is having a good time 

[BazandGem]

Thanks Caroline

We are fairly sure he's hanging out mainly on the railway embankment, and are now getting more sightings in one specific garden and the pub car park today so keeping everything crossed he shows up again soon!

I've also been in touch with Anna at Chester Cat Care who's offered to come out with a manual trap so she can (hopefully) get him if we can't  - providing the people who live there don't mind of course! She has also suggested getting the feral cats neutered so I'm going to pass her number onto the family whose house he's been seen at most often and hopefully arrange for her to go round early next week.

Gem x

[crd3000]

Hi Gemma,

I have just put a link to this forum on my Facebook page. I hope that this will make more people around the area aware and hopefully bring Bazza home.
I do hope so anyway.
I'm in the Newtown area of Chester so I am keeping an eye out for him too.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you that he returns home soon.

Caroline x

[Yvonne]

If I were you I would invest in a trap - you can pick them up for less than £20, stick some juicy and smelly food inside it and place it where he was last seen.

Come home soon Bazza your mum is worried about you

 

[Dawn F]

sounds like positive news - hopefully if she keeps feeding him you might be able to go round for a sighting!

[BazandGem]

Thanks Yvonne 

My husband and I went up there last week - no cats appeared, but we know that at least some of the feral cats live/sleep in that area having seen and smelt them!

Then went up again with my dad on Monday evening - whilst crashing around in the undergrowth a lady came out and said her friend had seen a cat which could have been Bazza a few days ago but "decided it wasn't him because he was wild and ran away" 

So based on that, I did some new leaflets and put them through everyone's doors in the area again yesterday morning, saying that he'd been seen without a collar and would probably run away if anyone approached him. About 10 minutes later I had a call from a lady 7 doors down from the original sighting point, who had fed the cat in question on Friday evening but he attacked her when she tried to pick him up and run off. She has cats herself and I think it's now a bit of a personal mission for her to catch him if she sees him again - I have told her not to get injured in the attempt but she seems determined!

My dad also spoke to someone in the cul-de-sac off the main road who thought he'd seen Bazza a couple of weeks ago walking down the cul-de-sac.

It is incredibly frustrating that these people didn't ring me (they've all had leaflets before and there are posters on lampposts everywhere) when they actually saw the cat rather than only mentioning it days or weeks later, but at least we're building up a picture of the area he's covering. One positive thing is that everyone who has seen him says he seems healthy and that it's a cat they haven't seen before about 2-3 weeks ago (all the feral cats in that area are short-haired and predominantly black and white, so he is obviously different). Also almost all of them have mentioned one or other characteristic that is quite specific to him so I'm hopeful it's him. These are the only sightings that we've had as well, and nothing from local vets or rescues, so it seems like it probably is him.

So now we have to wait for him to put in another appearance.

Gem.

[Yvonne]

Hello Gem and     to Purrs

I have only just seen this thread - just wanted to send positive vibes to you for the safe return of Baz, I hope the cat identified by this family does indeed turn out to be your Baz

Good luck to you and come home soon Baz

 

[Janeyk]

keeping fingers crossed here xx

[Christine (Blip)]

So, keep your fingers and paws crossed that he shows up tonight, lets me catch him and is Bazza 

I shall 

[BazandGem]

Quick update:

After over a week with no sightings, the girl whose garage the fluffy cat (which we are assuming is Bazza until we find out otherwise) was seen in last week rang last night to say they'd just seen the cat again in the garden. I dashed round there and looked around until it got dark. She and her little sister showed me exactly what route he had taken, and said he still seemed healthy although he is no longer wearing a collar. Given the number of bushes and other things it could have caught on though, that isn't really suprising.

I'm going round there after work again to sit in the bushes for a while to see if the cat turns up and comes near enough for me to identify it. Will take some catnip (the bush in the garden is growing again now), treats, blanket, and something waterproof to sit on!

I'm trying not to be overly optimistic as the younger sister said the cat has light feet- not sure how light she meant, but Baz's feet are a lighter brown than the rest of his body, just not noticeably so. The older sister is convinced it's him though. Also he has quite a distinctive meow - more of a "maa" which the younger sister mentioned this cat had said when she saw him.

So, keep your fingers and paws crossed that he shows up tonight, lets me catch him and is Bazza 

Gemma.

[Tiggy's Mum]

you could squish/rub the hoover contents onto whatever you take round to give it extra 'home' smell

[BazandGem]

Thanks, I will ring them and ask if I can take something round - he spends most of his time asleep on my knee or our rug or bed so doesn't have his own bed as such (I did buy him one, and a nice soft fleecy blanket, but he refused to go near either!) so my clothes probably smell more of him than anything!

I did wonder about a cat trap but the garage has such a pile of junk I'm not sure there's anywhere safe to put it down. Plus there are so many other cats around, we would probably end up trapping all of them and Bazza would be the last one we'd catch!

I'll keep you posted.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Hey, that sounds really positive - especially as he is such a distinctive looking cat. Great idea about leaving something with your scent on, if he can be enticed back there you could also ask the owners if they would be OK to have a trap set in their garage (you could ask your local CP/ RSPCA if they could lend you one - you might have to pay a deposit to make sure you give it back!).

[Janeyk]

I agree, sounds a good idea and hoping for positive news soon xx

[Kay and Penny]

fingers crossed very hard for you

I think it would be an excellent idea to leave something in the garage with your scent on, and if you  have a blanket or bed with his own scent on, that too

the bad weather we are now getting is pretty sure to make him go back to the garage for shelter

[BazandGem]

My dad took a call earlier today from a girl who was 95% certain Bazza was in her garage. By the time we got there the cat had gone (door doesn't close all the way and there's a window with a missing pane at the back ) but the next door neighbour had also seen it cross her back garden, without a care in the world and looking fit and healthy, so they and also another 2 people nearby are all now on "cat watch" and have promised to try to catch, contain and feed the cat until I can get there to see if it is in fact Bazza.

They all back onto railway lines, on the opposite side of the main road to our street, and it's amazing how many feral cats are around - 3 of the 4 people feed the ferals as well but had noticed this new "fluffy tabby" in the past 3 or 4 days. Apparently there are lots of mice along the railway embankment so that's why the cats congregate there.

Is there anything I can do to make him more likely to come back to the original garage, would putting a jumper of ours in there help? There are so many other cats around I don't know if that's something that would work or not, but any advice would be great.

Oh, and everyone keep your fingers crossed that it was Bazza they spotted and that he goes back for more food soon

[Christine (Blip)]

I am sorry to welcome you to Purrs under such worrying circumstances, Bazand Gem.  JaneyK has linked you to some excellent practical advice, which I recommend.  Keep positive: as a former stray he's street-wise.

[BazandGem]

Thanks Janey and Helen, I've been off work today so had a chance to go and knock on some more doors - several very nice people promised to keep an eye out, one lady even has a Maine Coon who's colouring is very similar to Bazza's so she's worried someone will think she's got my cat! A friend's son has been asking around his school and we've got various other people on the lookout who know a lot of people in the area.

As horrible as it would be, it would almost be easier if he'd been found dead somewhere but the Streetscene people hadn't picked up a dead cat since 3 weeks before Baz went missing, and the bin men don't remember seeing him at all last week when they collected the bins. So as it is we don't know if he's wandered off, been stolen, been taken in by a nearby person who thought he was a stray, or whatever other options there may be. If he has been taken in nearby, I'm keeping my fingers crossed he'll be let out soon and find his way back - he tends to scratch walls, doors, sofas etc so I'm sure he wouldn't be a happy housecat for long! Plus he has a tendency to cough up lovely furballs if he isn't groomed regularly so that's another potential reason for him to be shown the door.

Our house backs onto some allotments so my dad and I went round all the sheds today too and gave more leaflets out to everyone we saw (Mum & Dad have already been twice, they're going to get the police questioning them soon if they keep nosing around people's sheds and gardens so much  ) - he does usually head off that direction and there are loads of places that are nice and cosy for a cat to shelter in, plus lots of food for potential prey (he's brought me 2 shrews recently so his hunting instinct is there alright) and waterbutts and puddles to drink from, so I'm hoping he's having a holiday there maybe. It's such a big area he could've nearby whole time and we wouldn't have seen him.

My mum's been doing some reiki (she's a trained reiki practitioner) on our quest to find him and said she gets a warm feeling whenever she does it, which suggests he is still alive somewhere apparently.

The one thing in his favour is he's really friendly and affectionate so if anyone has got him he'll probably convince them to be nice to him, but he was  a stray before we got him back in 2007 so has got the know-how to take care of himself too.

I really think that we've done everything we can for now - he's even in this week's Chester Chronicle so I have a famous moggy now  - fingers crossed that someone, somewhere, will recognise him and he'll be home dribbling on his mummy again (no front teeth!) soon.

x

[Tiggy's Mum]

  to Purrs

Sorry it's under such worrying circumstances 

Bazza is gorgeous, hope he's home safe soon enough. He's quite distinctive looks wise so hopefully all sightings will be genuine rather than false alarms 

[Janeyk]

Hi Gem, sorry to welcome you under such sad circumstances, don't know whether you've seen these but here is a list of tips which may help you find Bazza: http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,305.0.html

hope he's home with you soon 

[BazandGem]

Hello everyone. I had just written a long account of how my furry little man Bazza went missing last Tuesday evening, then the photo I tried to upload was too big and I've lost my epic tale.

The short version is, he's a longhaired brown & black tabby, we've had him 3 1/4 years, he was a stray before we got him from NCAR, and he usually only goes out for about 4 hours max at a time. He has quite literally vanished - nobody anywhere seems to have seen him since he went out that evening. We've tried all the usual leafleting, posters, vets, rescue places etc. My mum's friend is even praying to St Anthony (lost and found items) for him to come back.

So, if anyone comes across Bazza or a cat that you think could be him in the Chester or in fact any area, please let me know.

Thank you all very much, I'd give anything to have him back home safe with me - or just to know what has happened to him.

Gem x