A police investigation is underway after the severed tail of a missing cat was pushed through its owners' letterbox in Hull. The distressed couple, who asked to be identified only by their first names, have been searching for their eight-year-old tabby cat Max since he vanished on Monday, September 14.
On Saturday, Lisa went to collect the post from their flat and discovered Max's distinctive white-tipped tail inside the mailbox. She and her partner Louise are now appealing for information about Max's whereabouts and say they are living in fear in their own home.
Discovery and Forensic Examination
Lisa described the moment she found the tail: "I went out to check the post as I was waiting for a parcel to come through. I opened the letter box and I saw it. I just screamed. It's distinctive. He is a tabby and he had a white tip on his tail. It's definitely his. The only thing I could find was a poo bag from the dog - I put it straight into the bag, my brain knew I had to preserve it."
Max's body remains missing, but Lisa and Louise said officers have now dispatched the tail for forensic examination. Louise said: "We desperately need to know if it was done post mortem because I have this image in my head that it was done while he was still alive. We can't thank the police enough. The DSI even came out and finger printed the letterbox. The tail has gone to a forensic expert in Liverpool to look for DNA and to test how it was removed."
Police Appeal for Information
A Humberside Police spokesperson said: "Officers were called to reports of a cat's tail being pushed through the letterbox of an address on Appleton Road in Hull at around 12.30pm on Saturday 19 September. Officers attended the scene and an investigation was launched in an attempt to establish the full circumstances leading up to the incident, and officers are in contact with relevant partner organisations. Anyone with any information that may assist with our investigation, including the whereabouts and welfare of the cat, is asked to call our non-emergency number 101 quoting reference 26*132718."
Police also released a poster appealing for information, confirming that the incident is believed to have taken place between 7pm on Friday, 28 September and 10.30am on Saturday, 19 September. Those with CCTV footage or relevant information are urged to contact 101, quoting the reference number above.
Couple's Fear and Wedding Plans
The couple, who are set to wed next month, are now weighing up whether to relocate as they remain uncertain about the identity of Max's attacker - or whether they might strike again. Lisa said: "We are supposed to be getting married in a couple of weeks and we don't know what to do. We feel like it's a hate crime. It's awful to know we are not safe. Last night we barricaded our bedroom door just because we didn't feel safe. We are living in fear. We feel threatened and we can't leave the house."
She added: "We've been planning the wedding for a long time. It's in Scotland everything is paid for. People are saying to us, if you don't do it, this person has won. And Maxi wouldn't want that for us. We'll still have the ceremony. I want to still marry her. I still want that ring. I want to be married, but I don't want to celebrate. We want to take some time and take our memories of Max with us."
Lisa and Louise are also considering offering a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. They intend to hold a candlelight vigil in Max's honour, incorporating a yellow theme in tribute to his favourite blanket. "We are so thankful to everybody. We'd like to invite everyone to get together to have a memorial for him. I just want to do something nice for him," Lisa said.
Max had previously disappeared after escaping through a window shortly after the couple moved into their flat. On that occasion, he was absent for five days before eventually returning home. Louise rescued Max five years ago when he was three years old. She described him as "such a lovely boy, so affectionate. He was so intuitive and friendly. He used to sit out the front and a little girl would come past on the way to school and shout for him." She added: "He was daft as a brush, he loved people, especially men. He could have been grabbed easily. Neighbours have said we've probably saved cats lives now by getting the word out there. We've got another little cat and we've sent her off to live with friends because we can't have her in the house. We just want justice for Max. We just want his body back, we want closure, and we want whoever did this locked up."
