Newmarket resident Kim Tanczos is still searching for answers after her Abyssinian kitten remains missing under mysterious circumstances.
Tanczos said Nala ran out the back door of her home on Malvern Crescent on Oct. 2. She published posts on several social media groups with a $2,000 reward for her beloved pet.
“I don’t sleep at night,” said Tanczos. “I’m always wondering if she is in a forest freezing at night or if someone is mistreating her. Even if someone is kind to her, it’s not your cat. It’s my cat. I bought her, and she belongs in our home. It’s really hard. We love her so much.”
The neighbourhood is situated near dense woodland on the border of Newmarket.
She said she spent hours knocking on every door on her street, gave neighbours a poster, and asked them to keep an eye out for Nala.
Abyssian cats, known as the cats from the Blue Nile, are a popular cat breed. They are believed to have been the sacred cats of Egyptian pharaohs and are known for their playful and energetic personalities. Nala has big ears and often lies down on her side.
Then, the family received an anonymous letter on Oct. 19 claiming one of her neighbours had taken her cat. She found the letter in her central mailbox.
“We have no clue who sent it,” said Tanczos. “We racked our brains. We don’t have any idea and actually have no clue who may have the cat. Anyone we may have thought, we ruled them out.”
She continues to receive crank calls of people meowing on the other line and hanging up and other callers saying they killed her cat.
“Daily, I get crank calls. I no longer answer calls that say no caller ID.”
She said she received a call recently from a teenage boy claiming that he rescued the kitten and had it in his house. The boy said he lost the cat, said it was hit by a car and is dead, and hung up. Another boy called from the same number and profusely apologized to her for his friend’s actions, fearing retribution from his mother.
Fifteen minutes later, she received a call from a school principal who said they had the two boys in their office. The principal suspended one of the boys for placing the call about the cat.
However, she has received legitimate calls from people, like the neighbour who thought they saw the kitten. She went over to their house and reviewed the video, but it turned out not to be her cat.
She also had a call from a person saying the cat was spotted on Main Street. Tanczos went there and knocked on some doors, but she said people reported a lost orange cat that often goes missing in the area — not her Nala.
The kitten is microchipped, and is noted as lost or stolen by PetLink. She also called 12 veterinarian clinics in Newmarket, Aurora, and Holland Landing, making them aware of her search. The chip will notify vets of her ownership if they scan it.
At this point, she believes her kitten was sold.
If you know Nala’s whereabouts, call Tanczos at 905-715-4424 or report it to PetLink online. You will need her microchip number, which can be provided by any veterinarian.