Oprah the cat [Still missing]

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Hi all -

After our little spotty tabby cat Oprah went missing for a night in 2018, we hoped she’d stay close by, but unfortunately she’s set off on another adventure, just over a year later.

I saw her last around 1pm yesterday, Thursday 11th July, and she hasn’t been home since. She’s a lovely little cat, but not one to miss mealtimes, and we think she’s maybe gone into someone’s house or shed for a nose around, and then been shut in accidentally. Please could you have a look, and listen out for any miaowing?

Several people have told us they recognise her - although NB she does look very like her sister, who also likes to explore! In the photo below, Oprah is the spottier one, on the left. We think she’s been spotted on Bovill Road, down by the General Napier, but despite walking for miles and jingling their little bells, there’s no sign of her yet.

Olive and Oprah live on Garthorne Road. Oprah wears a red collar with a bell (Olive’s collar is now yellow). They’re spayed and microchipped, and are registered with the Neighbourhood Vet near Crofton Park.

Thanks so much for any help you can give…
Jane & Daniel
07966 533 943 / 07771 727 612

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I’ve shared on our social channels:

• Facebook SE23.life page (3,350 followers)
• Twitter @SE23.life (4,530 followers)
• Twitter @SE23_Tweets (480 followers)
• Twitter @SE23Cats (240 followers)

Fingers crossed

Ah, wow, thank you so so much @anon5422159 - that’s very kind and very helpful. We’ve put flyers through 200 letterboxes in the area this evening, and have had lots of supportive messages back - lots of people have seen her earlier this week - but no one in the past 24 hours… Fingers crossed indeed.

Hi all. Still no sign of our little cat. I’m wondering what people think about offering a cash reward? We’re just so desperate to find her - we’ve walked for miles the past three days calling for her. I cannot bear the thought of her suffering in pain somewhere…

Hi, I’m almost definite I saw one of your cats (small, grey tabby with red collar) in one of the front gardens of the houses on Grierson Road near the junction with Garthorne Road on the morning of Friday 12th. I can’t be sure which one it was though. I actually took a photo to send to my husband because for a moment I thought it was my cat. It’s a bit crap because it’s of the cat walking away and not close up but I can send it to you in case you can recognise which one it was.

Also, have you got a security camera? We have a cheap one we set up in our kitchen when our cat started to go AWOL and it showed us that he was coming in for 20 mins in the middle of the night, otherwise we would have thought he’d not been home in several days. Worth trying just in case.

I’m not sure cash rewards make much difference to most people but I don’t really have any evidence to back it up. Hopefully just gone wandering - camera idea above from @boswell is an interesting one.

Thank you so much for the photos and messages, really really kind of you.

Hello - definitely saw one of your cats yesterday afternoon in the top half of Bovill Road in the front yard of a house on the right hand side as you walk towards HOP station. I remember it had a red collar with a bell on it. I’m sorry but I can’t really tell the difference between your two cats in the pictures provided, and so can’t tell whether it was the missing once. If I see it again I will try and catch it. I’m really sorry it’s missing but I’m sure you will find it soon. I’ve seen your cat(s) numerous times on that side of Bovill Road and so maybe someone in one of those houses is feeding it? Maybe you could put pictures up of it up and down Bovill Road?

Hi @HOPcrossbun. Thank you so much for this. I’m not sure what time you posted this exactly but we changed Olive’s collar to a yellow one on Sunday afternoon, I think around 3 or 4pm, so if you saw a red-collared cat after that then it was the missing one! I’ve updated the original post now to reflect this.

We flyered both sides of Bovill Road on Friday night and we’ve now put 50 posters all over the neighbourhood, so hopefully if sometime is feeding her then they’ll realise she’s missing/we are traumatised! But we’ve walked and called up and down Bovill about 20 times since Thursday, at different times of day, so I tend to think it was probably Olive you saw…
Anyway, thank you SO much again for your help with this, and yes, if you DO see a red collar again please do call! We miss her so much!

Oh no I saw this poster by the station this morning, so I guess she’s still missing:

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Animal Search | The UKs largest missing pet organisation

I hope she comes back soon - I’m keeping my eyes peeled until then.

Thank you, yes, devastatingly she is still missing. I still can’t quite believe it! We’re getting married next weekend, and it’s been quite difficult to get excited/feel happy these past three weeks. Oprah’s sister Olive is still crying the whole time and is very clingy - it’s heartbreaking to watch…

I really appreciate you keeping your eyes out for her - or for anyone who might innocently be feeding a skinny little girl cat who’s recently popped up in their back garden…

Hello
I saw a cat yesterday in Ladywell, off the road from Mamma Dough, that looked quite similar to Oprah. Attached photos for you to see.

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This one does looks quite similar, but no red collar… please be Oprah

Paging @janelouise…

Hi all - thanks so much again to you for still remembering/caring - sadly no, this isn’t her either - it was five weeks on Thursday
Oprah is definitely spotted with pale grey-ish spots - she’s not really stripey at all, and has yellow/amber eyes rather than green ones. But I know it’s impossible to tell other people’s tabbies apart! I just am so grateful to you all for trying. It’s just so sad and awful not knowing where she is.

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A couple more pics in case it helps…

Hi @janelouise

Have you seen this post (I saw it on se23 mums but am not on the group it is posted to in Crystal Palace): It looks like it could be her?

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edit post if from 2 weeks ago but not sure if you saw it

Hello - thank you so much @oakr - yes, I did see that while we were on our honeymoon - gave me a bit of a start as it does really look like her, but the FB post I saw said that cat was collected by her owners about 2 hours after that vet put the word out. Also Oprah is microchipped so any vet who found her would be able to contact us I hope…! But thank you for trying. It’s been nearly 8 weeks now, unbelievably, and we all still miss her like mad. It’s the not knowing that’s so awful. And poor Olive, Oprah’s sister, who is shouting at me as I type this! Thanks so much again though for thinking of us. Oprah is very definitely still missing and any help we can get is very gratefully received.

Sorry to get your hopes up, should have checked more. Still fingers crossed, they do just go wandering sometimes, though I know it must be a nightmare for you right now.

Oh my goodness. I will keep an eye open for her.

My heart breaks for you. I really hope you’re reunited sometime soon. She’s so gorgeous.