Missing Horace
Missing since 6 July
Still missing
Queanbeyan
Have you seen Horace?
Take a photo!
Tell us if you (or know of one)
About Horace
- Large ginger cat, medium-haired
- White triangle on face
- White on chin, chest, and paws
- Faint tabby stripes (not always visible)
- Male, microchipped, neutered
- Affectionate but easily frightened (likely to run from strangers)
Horace is a much-loved cat from Crestwood, Queanbeyan. His family has two children and a small dog. He is friendly, patient, and loves cuddles.
At the start of July, Horace was staying temporarily at a house on Isabella Street, near the suspension bridge, while his family were away. He was being kept indoors and had settled in well, but about a week into his stay he managed to escape during the night. We’ve been looking for him ever since.
Missing cats often show up again, sometimes months or even years later. We suspect that Horace is trying to return to his family home in Crestwood, but knowing him, he could be going in completely the wrong direction...
We’re trying to spread the word far and wide so we have as many eyes searching for him as possible. We know we may not get Horace home, but whatever has happened, we'd like to know.
Sightings: What to do if you see Horace
(or think it might be Horace)
Please try to get a photo or video before approaching him! Horace is likely to run from strangers, so take a few shots from a distance first. Even a blurry photo can be really useful!
Some tips!
Cats will often stay still while they think they are hidden. Your best chance of keeping him there is to act as though you haven't noticed him.
- Don’t try to call him or reach toward him
- Look at your phone instead of him - bonus points if you face your body slightly away from him
At night, it’s often better to record a video with the light on rather than trying to take photos.
Tell us if you know a ginger cat
Do you have a ginger cat in the Queanbeyan region (or know of one)? Please let us know where (ish) and send us some photos. Email is best, text messages are ok too.
A rough location is fine, even something like “at the top of the hill on Pindari Cres” is helpful! We’ll only use the photos to compare against reported sightings. We won’t share or upload them anywhere.
Why?
We’ve had sightings reported from all over town, and we’re regularly searching hotspots - places where we know there's an orange cat, but don't yet know if it’s our orange cat.
If we have photos of the local look-a-likes, that can help us to rule out sightings and avoid spending time searching for the wrong cat!
At one location it took us two weeks of searching before we finally found Milo, Horace’s (very handsome) doppelganger. Without some good reference images of Milo, it was pretty much impossible to rule out Horace from some sightings we were sent.
Contact David
If the sighting was within the last hour, please call David. For older sightings, a text or email is fine.
It’s helpful if you can tell me:
- Where and when you saw him
- What he was doing (e.g. sitting under a bush, climbing a fence, running behind a house)
- Which direction he went, if you saw him leave