Wigan cat owners on alert after NINE pets go missing from same area

At least nine cats have gone missing from Whelley in less than a month. Their disappearances all follow a near identical pattern - the pets do not return home at night, and are frequently spotted miles away from home in Haigh Hall.

The cats have been reported missing from streets that adjoin to Platt Lane in Whelley. These include Corsock Drive, Dalbeattie Rise, Waterbeck Close, Durham Street, Nottingham Place and Roach Green.

Diane Mcquillan’s cat Izzy was one of the felines that was went missing on June 8. Izzy was one of the five cats that was later found roaming the streets close to the popular beauty spot.

The Corsock Drive resident said: “It started at the beginning of June. Neighbours’ cats started going missing. It’s just carried on and continued.

“We noticed because we all started posting individually [on social media], and then we noticed the pattern.

“I’d seen a couple of people from the next street posting about theirs, and then another neighbour came round about hers, and we thought ‘this is all getting a bit strange’. To have all these cats missing at the same time, it was just too much of a coincidence.

“More cats have been going missing since. There is a pattern to this.”

When several Haigh residents reported sightings of the missing pets, the owners searched the area and found several of the cats wandering around various streets such as Pendlebury Lane and School Lane. To add to the mystery, the five cats that have so far been located were all unharmed.

“Apart from a couple of scrapes, nothing,” said Diane.

“It sounds like somebody is wanting to displace them, and get rid of them out of the area where they live, knowing that they can’t find their way back home from Haigh.

“At first we thought maybe it was kids. But it’s become quite obvious, now we’re up to nine, that it’s not. I don’t think kids would have the manpower to do that. We feel somebody is probably setting bait traps, catching them and taking them away.”

Diane said the crime spree has unsettled a lot of cat owners, who fear the culprit could start taking more cruel steps against the animals.

“We’re all just feeling not very safe in our own homes,” she said.

“We’ve got children who are very upset and crying because somebody has taken their pets. It’s causing quite a lot of upset. We are still tying to find four more cats. I’ve spoken to someone who lives in Haigh and he says there’s definitely more cats roaming about the area. But we can’t catch them easy, it’s like a big playground for them around there. But we are doing all we can to reunite these people with their pets.”

She added: “We’re all trying to collectively trying to reunite these pets and try to stop the person from doing it.”

Cats Guidance Rescue co-founder Janette Barton lives in the area and has been coordinating search efforts for the missing cats.

She said: “There is no way they’ve got there on there own. Cats don’t just migrate in groups to the same place a few miles away. They just don’t, and that is now what is happening. Someone is relocating them for their own means, whatever they may be. It’ a bit of a worry.”

“These cats are much loved family pets. A lot of people don’t like cats, but that’s no reason to destroy people’s lives. People are relying on their pets more and more during this time. They are a great source of comfort to people who are lonely. This is just horrific.”

She added; “I don’t know why they might be doing this, I really don’t understand. What they don’t appear to be doing is hurting them. These cats are domestic animals and are being used to being looked after in a home. They will be very distressed and very frightened, very vulnerable and unable to look after themselves.

“If this is somebody who doesn’t want cats around, or has an issue with wanting to keep cats out of their garden, the talk to us about it. We don’t want our cats to be a nuisance to people. We can perhaps help think of suggestions. But please stop. This is causing so much distress to people. It’s just not okay, and ultimately it’s a criminal act. These cats aren’t their property, they cannot just remove people’s property like this. It’s cruel to the animals and their owners.”

Anyone with information about these incidents should contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Animal Search UK is also appealing for any information anyone might have about these cats.

If you have any information please get in touch via or facebook page or email [email protected]