Buckingham cat owner's distress after stranger claims they trapped her pet for 'killing wildlife'

A Buckingham cat lover has spoken of her shock after being left an alarming note to say her beloved pet had been captured and released far from home, due to it ‘killing wildlife’.

When Sophie Ashley-Carter’s 18-month-old cat, Nutmeg, went missing from home on Wharfside Place on October 1, Sophie started a social media campaign to try to find her and put posters up round town, giving her address.

But on Thursday, October 20, Sophie, aged 55, was shocked and sickened to find a note had been left on her the windscreen of her car, parked in her driveway, to say a cat similar to hers had been captured and released far from home, as it was ‘killing semi-tame wildlife’.

The note says: “A stray cat with no collar and similar markings to the one in your picture was caught in my garden in the Page Hill area recently. I have been encouraging and nurturing the local wildlife in my garden for a number of years so I’m sure you can imagine how upsetting it was to to see this cat killing the semi-tame wildlife in such a cruel way, for it’s own pleasure.

"This cat was caught in a humane trap, where it remained until released a few hours later. After confirming the cat did not belong to local neighbours it was released in an area near Radclive and the golf course in the hope it would find a new home and not find it’s way back to Buckingham."

The note goes on to say: “I don’t know if this was your cat, but if so, I regret the distress it has caused you. If you find your cat, or replace it, I hope you will be a responsible cat owner and confine it to your own property to protect our lovely local wildlife which is under threat and in decline.

"Please be understanding and respect the feelings and efforts of those in the community who are trying to support our precious wildlife.”

Sophie, who has four other cats, said: “I am sickened by this and how they could take the law in their own hands, when it’s someone’s beloved pet.

"I am totally broken and devastated, she was my special support animal helping me through cancer treatment. Nutty is the most loving and loyal little girl. I desperately want to find her - she will be so frightened.”

Sophie spent four hours on Saturday knocking on doors in Radclive to find out if anyone had seen Nutmeg – to no avail.

Now she is appealing for people in the Radclive area to keep their eyes open for Nutmeg – and she also wants to know if any other cats have gone missing in the Page Hill area in the recent past.“It’s just so vindictive,” she said. "I don’t know how you start getting hold of a humane trap, I’ve no idea.

"So if you’ve got one of those, that says to me, you’ve done this before. There could be a whole host of cats on Page Hill that have been disposed of.”

Anyone with any information can contact Sophie on 07874 187507.