Cats going missing in my area - is any of this true?

[Tambatamba]

A lot of cats seem to be going missing in my local area and one person was talking about cats being taken by dog baiting rings. Then the conversation descended into 'Eastern Europeans taking them to eat them' and 'a microchip was found in a Chinese takeaway.'

Surely the last two theories are xenophobic nonsense?

Has anyone got this going on in your area?

@Theunamedcat I don't like to cause conflict on 'the litter tray' but I have to say that without any evidence this did not happen.

I implore you to research urban myth / urban legend to understand WHY you think this offensive rubbish is true.

Was that east Sussex by any chance??

Nobody can say with certainty that nothing bad ever deliberately happens to cats but most of the time they just wander off, find a new home or get killed in an RTA. This happens daily but I have noticed from being on a lost and found cats site that they seem to ‘disappear’ even more in early summer when they start wandering and around Bonfire night when they get scared. This is however my own observation based on anecdotal research.

I had this thought the other day in my area. There are a lot of my cat is missing posts. It is very worrying.

what thought? that they are being used in chinese resturants?

It's not worrying. Cats like to roam and are fickle in their affections. They often get run over or attacked by other animals. That's all. It's not a great mystery.

Dog fighting is hardly comparable to pet cats being killed and used in a takeaway curry 😂

Because I read it in the newspaper 🤷‍♂️ my homework was to read the newspaper to my parents who outsourced it to my sister who chucked it at me and said read anything so I did, it might not have been an alsation thinking about it (I have family in Leicester thats a common tale over there) but I remember the inspector being on medical leave the family not thinking they did anything wrong because they weren't selling it etc etc I also remember my mom coming in and flipping shit (admittedly this was not an unheard of occurrence) its a clear memory like I said they didn't steal pets they bought meat for themselves the reporting was really racist but in my town that was very much accepted at the time (early 80s) I come from a very strange town unfortunately

@Theunamedcat it does sound like your memories have got mixed up - this is a common thing. It has happened to me as well.

There were missing cars here over the summer. Some were found dead or had chosen to relocate themselves.

Strong rumour had it that trespassing cats were being caught and dumped at a country park.

I doubt we'll ever know the truth.

Missing cats. Not cars. FFS

Cats are always going missing and always will go missing as long as they're allowed out to roam.

It's nothing new.

I have a tracker on my cat, so far so good.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049141/amp/Chinese-restaurant-faces-bankruptcy-threat-false-rumours-diner-choked-microchip-served-dish-GREYHOUND.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/butcher-kept-dead-dog-in-the-freezer-119461.amp

Just a couple of examples of Chinese restaurants being falsely accused. BUT IT REALLY HAPPENED YOU KNOW...

Again - I'm waiting to see a report of this actually happening in a UK Chinese Restaurant. Complete of course with the added verisimilitude of retired health inspectors or blocked drains please.

Which one do you use?

It's always interesting how nobody can ever provide any solid evidence of this happening.

If it was true, it would be in the newspapers somewhere.

The spate of missing cats where I used to live was antifreeze poisoning (vodka/ alcohol is the antidote btw), probably down to the local pigeon fancier- apparently it’s not an uncommon practice in those circles according to a relative who raced pigeons. He was English.

How do you get a cat to drink anti-freeze?

Antifreeze is really sweet, cats love it, and sometimes drink it if it drips from leaks in cars.

I read this too, but it was a red setter. Two actually. I’m sure the internet still has the article, I’ll see if I can find it.

I just did a very rudimentary search and found lots of articles, including a lion found in a freezer.

we ate horse meat across the world without knowing so I’m not so quick to dismiss.

Except the lion story actually has no evidence. It's a story told by one person with no corroboration at all. And even then, the person claiming it is saying that it was legitimate and the only issue was that it was in the wrong freezer.

The horse meat scandal is true, because there is evidence for it. Actual evidence from an actual investigation that anyone can check on the exact issues that occurred.

And the "lots of articles" don't include any with any actual evidence of cats/dogs being taken. Lots of stories about restaurants being targeted by totally fake rumours though, that have threatened their livelihoods.

Oh and one true story about a (non-Chinese) butcher keeping his beloved pet Jack Russell in his freezer whilst waiting for a pet burial ceremony.

Are they proper articles with actual evidence, or just stories about how Dave from Scunthorpe found a bit of a metal in a curry and has decided it's a microchip?

Could you link to any?