THE mystery of High Wycombe’s disappearing cats grew this week after Midweek received yet more calls from worried pet owners.

We have already reported on five felines going missing in Micklefield in recent weeks.

And now another Micklefield moggy has disappeared from home for the second time in the space of a few months.

On top of that, as many as TEN cats have not returned home in Booker Place, five miles away.

Suzanne Tarr, of Ashdown Road, Micklefield, is the latest cat owner to get in touch, after tom cat Max went missing.

He first disappeared on September 17, but was reunited with his family after turning up in Beaconsfield six weeks later. Six days on he was off again and has not been seen since.

Mrs Tarr, 32, a receptionist, said her ten-year-old daughter Laura was distraught. They were certain Max had been stolen.

“We got him back and he was in so much shock and traumatised he wouldn’t go further than the front garden,” she said.

Max, who was adopted by the Tarr family after he was hit by a car in an accident three years ago, was last seen at about 4pm on November 8 and never strayed far.

Daughter Laura has been missing Max more than most.

“My little girl used to pick him up like a baby and carry him,” said Mrs Tarr. “She's just distraught that he's gone.”

She has put up a reward for his safe return, adding: “I'll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

More moggies have been going missing from Booker Place.

Linda Eldridge, 51, said four of her cats had disappeared from home in the last 14 months.

She said: “One of them was an indoor cat and the others would just go out for a couple of hours.

“Until my neighbour read in the Bucks Free Press about some cats going missing I thought maybe it’s foxes getting them, but now I’m not sure.”

Mrs Eldridge, a housewife, said her children had become particularly attached to one of the cats, named Muppet.

She said: “As soon as my daughter laid down on the settee, he would jump on her, wrap itself around her and go to sleep.

“She still talks about him and says, ‘I wonder if he’s coming back?’ I say, ‘I don’t think so, not now’.”

Other cats have also gone missing in the area.

Phil Mansbridge of the Cats Protection League said he was mystified why so many pets were disappearing.

He said: “Cats Protection is very concerned to hear of the disappearance of these cats.”

He advised owners to keep their pets indoors at night, and to get them microchipped.

Mr Mansbridge also urged people to report disappearances to the police and RSPCA.

Have you seen Max? Contact Suzanne Tarr on 07944 568567.