With any luck, you will find your cat. Unfortunately there are also stories with no happy ending. Outdoors can be a dangerous place with cars, dangerous dogs and, in some countries, predators which eat cats. There are also waves of cat theft. It is up to the owner to weigh up the pros and cons of an indoor or indoor-outdoor life.
In Britain, cats are traditionally indoor-outdoor pets and most live long and healthy lives. In America most pet cats live indoors only. The way you choose should be appropriate to where you live and readers must respect this fact. This section is mostly applicable to Britain.
Sadly there are cats who vanish due to malicious people. Around Chelmsford, Essex, there were several waves of cat disappearances.
These were characterised by the fact that the disappearing cats were all one colour. During one month black cats vanished en masse from a few streets in one suburb. A few months later most of the tabby cats in one housing development vanished. They vanished either late at night or very early in the morning when let out to do their business in the garden.
In one case, an owner saw people attempting to snatch her cat from her garden in Springfield, Chelmsford and she gave chase (the cat was recovered, the thieves were not caught). In another, the owner of a tabby cat saw her cat escape from the front window of a moving van in Galleywood, Chelmsford (though another of her cats vanished without trace). These are not "friend of a friend" tales - I personally spoke to both of these owners.
Why Are Cats Stolen?
In Britain, it is suspected that cats are stolen for laboratory use or for the European fur trade. Over the years, there has also been evidence of cats being stolen and killed by malicious individuals. A major supplier of laboratory cats (Hillgrove Farm) has closed down and cat owners became concerned that cat theft would increase as a result. Most labs emphasise that they only use specially bred cats since may experiments require the cats to have been raised in sterile environments.
Unfortunately many other tests only require that the cat be easy to handle and pet cats are appropriate. There is the practice of 'pound seizure' in parts of the USA where unclaimed strays can be appropriated by laboratories. Elsewhere, cats are also used as practice animals for fighting or coursing dogs and for dissection class (especially for the US: Cat Theft for Classroom Dissection Studies). There will always be a few sick sadists in society who enjoy harming animals.
Cats have been used for air rifle or shotgun practice and there have been occasional reports of rural butchers being offered supposed rabbit carcasses which are, in actual fact, skinned cats. One or two butchers who normally buy wild rabbit from rabbit shooters have apparently insisted that the head and paws are left on the carcass so that it can be proven to be rabbit (this information was provided by a rabbit shooter in my own area in 1993).
Pedigree cats may be stolen to order, much as high performance cars are stolen to order. Microchipping goes some way to prevent this, but there will always be a few unscrupulous professionals who will remove the chip. The buyers are people who are unwilling to buy from a breeder. In 2000, a pedigree Turkish Angora stud cat was stolen in the UK, presumably to order since it was one of very few Turkish Angora studs in Europe.
There have also been instances of mass cat poisonings in parts of Britain, some of which have continued over several years and taken the lives of scores, if not hundreds, of pet cats. I was also aware of a cat-hating individual in south Essex who routinely caught and dumped his neighbours' cats in the countryside because the cats were "winding up his birds".
The discredited Mammal Society Survey (2001) with its inflated statistics of feline predation increased antipathy, and possibly violence, towards cats (see Domestic Cats - Wildlife Enemy Number One or Convenient Scapegoats?). However, the most likely fate of vanished cats is widely believed to be the fur trade (The Cat Fur Trade). Tales of cats being stolen by ethnic restaurants or ethnic communities are, with only very few exceptions, urban myths aimed at propagating racism (Urban Myths: Moggy on the Menu ).
In the late 1990s/early 2000s it was reported that pet cats were disappearing around Perth, Western Australia. It was believed that these were being taken for their fur. John Wamsley of Earth Sanctuaries, a noted cat-hater (he accuses those who like cats of being peculiar and wildlife haters), was reportedly paying bounties for cat skins and apparently preferred pet and pedigree cat skins for their colour, quality and texture.
According to Australian TV show Burke's Backyard,"The sanctuary sells cat skin rugs and cat skin hats. They are in need of cat skin suppliers and will pay $20 each for properly tanned cat skins." Such a statement immediately encourages cat theft and endangers pets.
While the trade in cat fur is perfectly legal in a number of countries, the danger is that some of those cats were stray pets or were stolen specifically for their fur. As well as being used for garments or trinkets, cat pelts are believed to be efficacious against rheumatism and joint pain ("Medicat") and are also used in some regions for traditional musical instruments.
In March 1995, cat owners in Clevedon, Somerset, England were advised to keep their pets indoors following a spate of disappearances. Nearly 100 presumed thefts of cats had been reported during the previous twelve months.
Nearly all those reported missing were black. In March, 10 cats disappeared in a single day. One suggested explanation was that the cats were being used in witchcraft rituals but, according to various animal charities, this "vanishing by colours" made it far more likely that they had been stolen for their pelts, which could be sold abroad.
A cat fur trade apparently exists in Britain and supplies foreign markets, especially Germany where cat fur is used for garments. Visitors to Germany have sometimes seen cat pelts for sale from filling station forecourts.
The cat fur trade in Europe is on the increase following a ban on pet fur trading in the USA. While many of the pelts come from factory farms in the Far East, it is possible that stolen pets and rounded up strays are used to meet a growing demand for pet fur (The Cat Fur Trade).
Solid colours (black, grey, white) of cat fur are indistinguishable from rabbit fur. Tabby and tortie are considered especially attractive. In 1984, I saw a person in Chelmsford, England wearing a 3/4 length coat of tabby cat fur - the pattern of a domestic classic tabby cat is unmistakable.
The British Fur Trade Association have denied using cat skins. Following a National Petwatch survey in 1985 they then insisted that they only obtain cat skins from legal sources. Conscientious vets and most local cleansing departments arrange for the bodies of dead cats to be incinerated as 'medical waste'. However it is legal for them to sell dead cats to skin merchants, this is more profitable than incineration.
People may also breed cats in the home and supply them to furriers (legal, but rarely declared on tax returns) or less scrupulous animal shelters may dispose of euthanized cats to the fur trade as a way of recouping costs. In the 1980s, a British tabloid newspaper carried a story about veterinarians in the UK who passed animals presented for euthanasia to laboratories. This is mercifully rare.
The number of legally obtained pelts is not usually enough to supply overseas markets. Petwatch's research showed that foreign dealers were willing to buy pelts and/or carcasses in tens of thousands (often in bales on a weight basis) on a 'no questions asked' basis. So where do the rest of the pelts come from? Stolen cats probably make up the shortfall if no questions are asked.
According to the researchers, cat skins may be processed by London furriers or the carcasses may be sold directly to foreign buyers. Manufacturers abroad admit that the best suppliers of cat pelts are Scandinavia, Australia (as part of feral cat extermination programs) and Britain.
The Fur Trade Association once offered a £3000 reward to anyone who can prove a connection between vanishing cats and the fur trade. It's impossible to prove that a prepared skin used to be your cat since much identifying material will have been removed, including microchips (under skin) and tattoos (on ears). It's like trying to work out whether traded ivory comes from recent poaching or old stockpiles. You need to catch the thieves in action.
By the 21st Century, DNA profiling can be used to identify whether fur is from the species named on the label or is falsely labelled cat or dog fur.
This makes it harder to pass off cat fur as being rabbit. It might, one day, prove that a distinctive pelt in a bale is Mr X's stolen Bengal - finally linking the fur trade with stolen/missing cats.
Petwatch stated that documentation at fur auctions testifies to the increasing use of both cat and dog in fashion garments; they are cheap and they are used in place of endangered species covered by CITES restrictions. Patterned cat fur (tabby or spotted) can be used to replace ocelot, leopard etc. Restrictions on seal culling have led to an increased use of cat fur in the manufacture of cuddly toys and ornaments.
A German company selling 'Medicat' cat furs claims that the fur prevents arthritis, rheumatism and slipped disks (spinal problems). This is superstition (or the placebo effect); cat fur is no more therapeutic than other furs of similar density or even artifically fur with similar weight and thermal properties.
From time to time, quantities of skinned cat bodies or heads and paws have been discovered. The fact that the carcass is discarded gives a very convincing picture of what is going on (a legally operating taxidermist would keep the paws and facial fur).
Yet in 1992, a spokesman for the Fur Education Council said that there had never been any evidence to suggest that animals were being taken for their fur. There is evidence that it occurs, but there is no evidence to link the Fur Trade Association to criminal activities. The pelts can simply be mixed in with legally obtained pelts and any accompanying documents can be falsified so that pelts from stolen cats are 'laundered' like money.
As a cat owner and cat rescue worker, I have found that the problem of missing or stolen cats is not taken seriously in Britain. Since 1983, a charity called Petwatch mounted intensive investigations into the problem of vanishing cats. They found that the patterns of disappearances were strongly indicative of organised cat theft. Certain breeds or colours of cats vanish in considerable numbers from small areas in a short time frame. The numbers are such that coincidence can be discounted.
Tabby cats and black cats are most common in the pet population and therefore will be most common when figures of missing cats are studied. They proportion of lost tabby or black cats should be roughly the same as the proportion of tabby or black cats in the pet population. When a disproportionate number of a particular colour of cat vanishes, it is not simply a case of cats wandering or being run over.
When a large number of cats vanish from a relatively small area in a relatively short time, but neighbouring areas suffer no such losses then it is highly likely that the cats are being taken. In Luton, England, 7 cats vanished from a single street in one afternoon while 21 cats vanished from a nearby village and 200 cats vanished over a 3 month period. Theft black spots were areas well lit at night (where road traffic accidents can be discounted).
Despite the evidence, owners who contacted one major humane society were told (unhelpfully and callously) that cats often stray. This was hurtful to those whose cats were known to stay close to home. Most of the vanished cats were neutered, making them less likely to stray. Many were microchipped or had ID tags, but did not turn up as strays at rescue shelters or as road casualties (injured or deceased). In one area of Chelmsford, a number of cats were found killed and dumped outside houses (the incident has not been repeated) and elsewhere in Britain, lost cats were found decapitated.
One individual carried out a campaign of mass poisoning using cyanide and canned fish and in Essex a policeman mentioned finding skinned cat bodies in a dustbin bag. People have been seen enticing cats into vehicles; in Chelmsford, there were once several reports of youngsters collecting cats and taking them to a white van. Although often dismissed as an urban myth, this was taken seriously enough for warning notices to be placed at vets and in pet shops (this was the same year that my friend's cat was seen escaping from the front window of a moving van)./P>
It's Up to Owners to Act
If humane society inspectors themselves cannot find evidence of theft than they will deny that theft or malice is involved in spite of the numbers game. All the tabby cats vanishing from a single street in 48 hours is not considered proof that cat thieves exist. It is thererfore up to cat owners to gather evidence. A mass cat-poisoner was uncovered by a diligent cat-owner and was successfully prosecuted when evidence was found in his home. Videos and photographs provide the best evidence. Tackling a thief in person may prove dangerous and he (or she) may claim that you subjected them to an unprovoked attack. Web-cams provide surveillance equipment, but you may require clearance from the police or the local authorities (unless they are used solely for surveillance of privately owned land) and have genuine cause for concern.
