A family lost their cats after they escaped from a cattery hours before they were due to be collected. Chloe Patterson, 24, of Shepshed, had been on holiday in Majorca with her family and left the two family cats in Cats at Ratcliffe Luxury Cat Hotel in Eastwood, but they escaped on Friday, July 15.
Chloe said: "We were on holiday and we usually use a cattery in Leicester that they know and like but it was full, so we looked for one of a similar quality and I found one in Eastwood. They were there for a week whilst we went to Majorca, and then when we came back my mum and sister went to collect the cats but as they turned up the cattery owner came out in tears saying that they had gone."
The family were told by the owner that she had been carrying the cats in a cat carrier from the bottom of the garden where the enclosure is to the top of the house. The cat carrier door must not have been shut properly and the two cats burst out before running away and over the fence.
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The owner of Cats at Ratcliffe Luxury Cat Hotel said: "There were two adult cats in the same carrier. It was one of the plastic carriers with a metal door with a pull-up handle, the door broke open and the knob fell off so the cats escaped.
"They were over the fence in seconds. It was horrific, my worst nightmare. I'm following up with the family if I'm informed of any sightings, and I've helped search as well each night. The family have been driving to Eastwood and back from their home to search for the cats."
The two cats, Pepsi and Max, are brothers and Chloe has had them both since they were kittens. Chloe said: "We found Pepsi three nights after at about 11pm about a mile from the cattery, he was nearly getting on to the A610 getting on to the main road.
"It's been five weeks now and we have not had even a sighting of Max. It's been horrendous, it's a complete tragedy you don't expect it to happen to both of your pets in a matter of seconds.
"It was a pure miracle that we found Pepsi, I don't think that is what tends to happen just picking them up off the street."
Max is a black cat with white hair on his chest and a big mole in his right eye, but he is not microchipped and was not wearing a collar at the time.
Chloe said: "My aunt lent us money to pay for a search team, that was extortionate work, and we finally got a refund from the cattery." The cattery had cost around £200 to look after both of the cats for the week, whereas the search team cost £2,000.
She added: "We've probably spent upwards of £400 to £500 on petrol, just going over there all the time.
"It's been horrendous. At this point and after this amount of time he could really be anywhere." Since the incident, the Eastwood cattery has changed its policy to only accept cats that are in their own carriers, and owners now come down to place cats in the suite and collect them.
The owner of the cattery said: "It was a devastating accident that the family did acknowledge at the time. I just hope that Max is found safe and well soon, sadly both cats weren't microchipped."
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