Fears of cat-napper as celebrity pet Gorgeous George with 9,000 Twitter followers becomes the NINTH moggy to vanish from Cumbrian village
- Gorgeous George the cat vanished from his home in Thornhill on November 11
- The two-year-old cat has 9,000 followers on Twitter who are seeking updates
- Locals in the Cumbrian village fear George may have been abducted
- Owner Steve Haywood said there had recently been a spate of cat abductions
A ‘celebrity’ cat known as ‘Gorgeous George’ is feared to have become the latest victim of an abductor preying on a village’s pets.
There are now eight cats missing from their homes and feline influencer George, who has 9,000 Twitter followers, is thought to be the latest victim.
Owners Steve and Vanessa Haywood are hoping his high profile will spread word of his disappearance far beyond the west Cumbrian village of Thornhill where he was last seen.
He is the ninth cat to vanish within weeks and his owners believe a catnapper is at large.
It is a week since Gorgeous George the cat, pictured, went missing from his home in Thornhill, Cumbria
George was last seen by his owners on November 11 and fears are increasing over his safety
Owner Steve Haywood said there had been a spate of cat thefts in Thornhill in recent weeks
George, who is just over two years old, went missing last Friday night (November 11) and has not been seen since.
Mr Haywood said: ‘We are gutted and very worried about him. George has never been out for longer than a day before.
‘There’s a worrying trend in Thornhill of cats going missing and I have reported that George is also missing.
‘I think everyone in Thornhill should report the missing cats or we won’t get anywhere.’
‘We’re hoping he will return of course but there is always that thought he doesn’t with these suspicious goings on.’
Mr Haywood said that members of the Thornhill residents group have reported their cats have gone missing.
He said: ‘If one goes missing it is just a missing cat, but eight of them is a pattern.
‘Eight is a pattern we could look into and eight is a pattern where we could maybe catch someone.’
George has always been allowed out of home but he never goes out at night and returns home to either sleep on the sofa with his own cardigan or cuddled in bed with his owners.
Mrs Haywood realised he was missing on Saturday after he’d spent the night snoozing on the sofa.
She knew something was wrong when he did not return for his chicken dinner and began to fear the worst.
His disappearance has horrified his dedicated Twitter followers, many of whom are from abroad, including the United States, Australia and Denmark.
Mr Haywood said: ‘The response has been great but for every 100 people, you get a response saying “you shouldn’t have let him out” but that is the way people are on social media.’
