So Upset. Stolen Cat.

[tararabumdeay]

Hermes driver and her daughter took our cat on Thursday 8th Oct - we have witnesses.

After turning up every day for months they disappeard, with the cat. A different driver turned up to collet our 'sting'' parcel on Friday. Their job was advertised on Indeed the next day.

I know the girl is a teenager, not in school, called Izzy. I have the van reg. no. It's a 59 reg silver/blue transit.

Herbie is an old man who has lived here all his life. We took him in last winter when his original owner couldn't look after him anymore.

The police are on it but can't get information about the van nor contact Hermes.

AIBU to be so upset? I can usually cope with life's dificulties but his gentle, innocent soul must be so distressed and it's hurting.

Please, if anyone knows the driver and/or daughter, let me know where to get Herbie back so he can spend his last days in the home he knows.

@decoraters

Re the sting parcel -
maybe the op wanted to be sure the driver would definitely come back, make she wanted them to come to her door, idk, if I suspected a deliver driver had stolen from me I can see why I sting parcel to get them back so I could accuse them would work, especially if I had gotten nowhere with the delivery company.

Re the driver stopping every day for a month -
I read it as though the driver stopped at her house every day to fuss the cat while delivering to the cul-de-sac.
But actually after re reading it sounds like the cat wasn’t in the OPs garden, just out and about in the cul-de-sac all the time.

The driver probably gave it a fuss when it saw it and because of its disheveled state though it was neglected rather than old.

As others have said, plaster this on their Facebook and Twitter. They may not answer a phone but this will get action.

Also report him as stolen to the chip company so if they take him to a get, the vet won’t let him go back to them.

Don’t Hermes drivers drive their own cars? I think the police has the means to check what address that van is registered to, it just they don’t want to

The vast majority hire vans.

If anyone lives near a Hemes driver with an unsophisticated teenage daughter called Izzy

You are doing yourself no favours OP.

I suspect the police will do nothing. And tbh I’m not even sure what people think the police should do.

It’s essentially a stray cat if it’s always left outside and looks to be in a bad way. But all the driver needs to do is say that no, they don’t have the cat. The police aren’t going to demand to search their property or anything. Like that.

There are real criminals out there... If the OP didn’t want someone to take the cat then perhaps she should have looked after it better so that it didn’t look to be in such a poor state.

It's not a stray cat if it's outside and looks in a bad way. It's an old cat, that's what old cats look like, they get manky non-shiny fur and their coat kind of hangs down on them in a baggy way. We had a real old dude who made it to his early 20's and half our stress was people deciding he was being maltreated and taking him to the vets, luckily our vets knew him and knew us and just used to return him. It was ridiculous. Very old cats look like very old people, not as healthy and bouncy as they used to!

Where did you take the cat in from ? It’s not originally their cat is it?
Did anyone see them actually take the car, or is it you suspect they did?

Hi, if they have taken him I would think it was because they were worried about him. We had our old cat returned to us by the RSPCA because a neighbour reported that he was being neglected (he wasn't). The RSPCA person insisted on coming in to hand him over, I presume to check out the house. It was so bizarre. Why the neighbour didn't knock and ask us about the cat I have no idea. Anyway, it made us look at our cat with fresh eyes .Took him to the vet and he was PTS. We hadn't realised how far he'd deteriorated. Hope you get some news if your cat soon.

Alternative whatever, are you one of these peoplecwho thinks cats should be kept indoors all day?
My cats potter about outside all day then come home for tea. That doesn't make them unloved or stray. It just makes them cats. Old cats like old people can look a bit poor, its the nature if life. Your comments were ignorant and unkind to someone who is clearly upset

The thing I don't get is why on earth you'd think you'd be unreasonable to feel like this in these circumstances?

I really hope you get your little sweetie back.

Sounds odd.

You say you have witnesses and the van reg. So the police will know who the van belongs to and your witnesses can confirm the theft.

Yet people want facebook groups to track down the van and a child Izzy..... and do what exactly? On the say so of 'witnesses' when the law cannot/have not followed up. Is this vigilante territory? Do they wrestle the cat assuming they have it from the man and girl?

Ummm sounds s bit off.

Hi op, I managed to find you quite easily on Facebook and have read all your posts about Herbie. The fact they came daily and fed him treats rings alarm bells.

Are you posting all over your local fb pages? There must be someone who knows who these people are. Even if they're totally innocent you need to rule them out.

He looks like a very loved cat and I hope he is back home where he belongs soon.

OP that is a bloody wicked and cruel thing they have done .I live quiet close to you in Shropshire, have you put it on the missing and lost cats page Shropshire on fb .Share it on every fb page related to Shropshire you can.Some one must know them .If you want to message me with the details and picture I will share it glady on my own page for you .I hope you find him soon .

I found you on Facebook too, we have a friend in common - small world! I really hope you get your cat back x

What does unsophisticated even mean on this context?

I think facebook has fuelled this obsession with lost and ill cats , on our local gossip board barely a day goes buy when someone has become obsessed with a cat, kidnapped it to the vets for a chip check pronouncing it as a hungry stray . I think it was probably kidnapped out of concern , but I hope you get him back xx

Have you tried posting on local facebook groups ?

Works well round our way for re-uniting cats with their owners, although not sure about stolen cats though.

This happened near me, opposite end of the country to you so not Sam person but very similar. cctv showed Hermes driver and child pet the cat then pick it up and shove it in the car! Plastered all over social media till someone recognised them and gave an address. Owner drove to their house and the cat was handed back to them so don’t give up hope OP!

How did people find the OP on Facebook? Out of interest.

I am sorry OP, I hope you get Herbie back

Hoping you get your cat back soon. A similar incident happened on my local FB page. Someone adopted a cat and within 2 months someone stole him. Thanks to the group and police involvement the cat was returned safely to the owners.

Searched for Herbie, Hermes and Oswestry together. I didn't share though as I am nowhere near the area.

Thank you Shennals!

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

What does unsophisticated even mean on this context?

Probably a polite way of saying 'rough as fuck'.

I live in another country and am on an expat facebook page (for people from all different countries if that makes sense). Barely a week goes by without a concerened post from someone along the lines of ""I found this cat just walking along the street by itself mewing. I think it was lost so I caught it and now its in my kitchen. What should I do next?" Accompanied by picture of very healthy, mildly annoyed cat. The responses are usually "Let it go now FGS". But people DO catnap cats a lot, sometimes with good intentions. Fingers crossed they did what they did because they thought it was a stray as hopefully then it will be less trouble to get back.