A pedigree cat who went missing while out on a woodland walk has been found 150km from his home with his fur shaved off.
Charel went missing last week from his home in Aarschot, West Flanders. He reportedly went out for a walk in nearby woodland over the Easter break, but failed to return home.
According to VRT News, a week after his disappearance, Charel’s owners received a phone call from a vet who said she may have found their beloved pet.
The vet said Charel had been found wandering round in the village of Rekkem, a two-hour drive from Aarschot.
“Apparently, that tomcat had been wandering around there for about 4 days,” the vet told VRT. “Eventually, they decided to take him in and bring him to me to see if he was microchipped and whether we could track down his owners.”
She said his owners were “absolutely delighted” to hear that he’d been found and came to collect him straightaway.
However, they were shocked by his appearance. Charel’s body had been shaved, leaving only his bushy tail untouched.
His owners told VRT there were two possible scenarios: “Either he accidentally got into a van or a car and travelled to West Flanders that way, or he was kidnapped.”
They added: “Maybe someone spotted him and took him away. We treat him like an ordinary cat and let him out now and then as a result, his coat isn’t pure white. Perhaps they shaved him so that his coat would grow back and be perfectly white and soft coat again.”
