NEED TO KNOW
- A pair of cat owners have spent over $22,000 to look for their missing cat in Germany
- Rafal and Monika Klajnszmit have been searching for their cat Nero, who disappeared during a car trip, since July 2024
- The couple has driven roughly 300 from their home in Eschwege in western Germany to the city Erlangen every weekend to look for Nero
Two cat owners are doing whatever it takes to recover their beloved pet, who has been missing for nearly a year.
According to The Times, a black cat named Nero disappeared in Germany in July 2024. His owners have spent over $22,000 in their efforts to bring him home again.
Nero, who has a white spot on his chest and light green eyes, went missing in the city Erlangen, per the outlet.
His owners, husband and wife Rafal and Monika Klajnszmit, have spent thousands on fuel and hotels as they continue their search. They’ve also bought special cameras and Nero’s favorite food to try and help aid in the cat’s discovery.
The pair reportedly drives roughly 300 miles from their home in Eschwege to Erlangen every weekend to look for Nero. Their beloved cat ran away when the family made a stop during a car trip.
“I wanted to spend my vacation with my wife in Chiemgau,” Rafal told the local outlet Bild. “She was in rehab there. I stopped at a hotel in Erlangen. Then Nero jumped out of his transport box and ran away.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In the town, Rafal and Monika knock on doors, put up posters featuring a photo of Nero and have installed cameras on eight food bowls that they keep full of tuna. Rafal said that he sees other cats eating Nero’s favorite dish in the footage, but their pet has not shown up.
Taking to social media, the couple set up a Facebook page called Nero – ein Bub verloren in Erlangen, which translates to Nero – a boy lost in Erlangen.
So far, the page has amassed 3900 followers and 2400 likes.
“He means a lot to me. He’s a friend and a member of the family. And you don’t abandon your friends,” Rafael said. “I’m not giving up. I know he’s still alive.”
He added that his cat is chipped and that “if he had been found dead we would have been notified. The vets and the motorway maintenance department say that when a dead animal is retrieved the chip is read.”
The owner went on to say that his cat’s shy personality might be making search efforts harder.
“The problem is he’s so d—– shy,” he told The Times. “He’s not the kind of cat who goes up to people to get stroked. I can imagine he’s so scared that he only moves around at night.”
Speaking about anyone who finds Nero or another cat, Rafal added, ”We can only ask people to secure the cat, take it to the vet and get the chip checked. It might not be Nero but there are many missing cats and a lot can be rescued in this way.”
“I am deeply touched to see how far his story has already reached — across national borders. People all over the world are wondering where Nero might be,” Nero’s facebook page wrote in a post on Thursday. “I am especially happy that this article is now reaching many English-speaking people in Erlangen — especially students who so far knew nothing about Nero, but perhaps unknowingly became part of this story because of him. Maybe one of them saw Nero or even gave him a shelter.”
Read the full article here