Cats: Stamshaw woman devastated after her cat went missing last year and someone said they would kill it if she did not pay them

On December 6, 2023, Lisa Chamberlain’s nine-year-old black and white cat, Minnie, disappeared – and has not been seen since.

Lisa, 40, of Stamshaw, said: ‘I came down that morning and she wasn’t there so I just assumed she went out to go to the toilet. After the first 24 hours, it became apparent she was missing so I went to the neighbours, put posters up and posted on Facebook.’

Lisa has noticed that there has been an increase of cats going missing and she said that on her road along there have been three cats reported as missing.

She added: ‘It is every single day and I really do believe that somebody is taking the cats, locking them in their property or doing whatever to them because no-one has had a happy ending.’

The mum of one has been traumatised by the disappearance and she was targeted by someone who claimed that they had her cat but wanted money or they would kill her it if she did not pay them.

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She received a phone call from a man about her cat during which he made the claim that he had her cat and he wanted money so she asked for his bank details and took them to the police to see if she could make any progress with finding Minnie.

Lisa said: ‘I gave the bank details to the police and it was a man that phoned me but it was a woman’s details and it was an international bank. They said that if I didn’t put £500 in their bank, they would kill my cat so I contacted the police.

‘It has been so heartbreaking, it has been awful. Every single night if I do manage to get to sleep I have terrible nightmares.’

A spokesperson for the police said: ‘We were called at about 11.45pm on January 2, 2023 with a report of blackmail. A woman was asked to pay money to have her missing cat returned.

‘Following a full investigation, this case has been filed pending further or new information, at which point it may be reopened.’