CAN you help reunite distraught care home residents with their beloved cat?
Ellie, the resident cat at Farringford Care Home in Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, went missing last week after slipping underneath the gate at the back of the building.
Bought a year ago as a therapy pet to make the care home feel more homely, Ellie is doted on by residents, many of whom have dementia.
Now care home manager Pam Gammons has issued a desperate plea for help in tracing the missing cat.
She said: "It is very sad. Our first cat, Elvis, was very old and had to be put to sleep last year.
"I decided to replace him with Ellie and the residents have become very attached to her.
"One gentleman who is in hospital at the moment comes to find her every morning on the stairs. He is going to be devastated when he finds out she is missing.
"If anyone has seen her or knows where she is, I would urge them to call us. We have got transport if she needs picking up. We just want her back."
Pam, who introduced rescue cat Elvis to the care home in 2007, added: "I'm a big believer in having animals around. Animals are very tactile and it makes the place feel less clinical and more like a home from home.
"The majority of residents have dementia and for them it is doubly therapeutic to have animals around. A lot of the staff bring dogs in to see the residents and we also have resident birds in the summer."
She said Ellie, who is cream and apricot in colour, disappeared after slipping underneath the gate onto Tennyson Road last Wednesday evening.
"She has hardly ever gone out. She has occasionally gone round the garden and into the car park a couple of times on a night.
"The night girls have said she goes up to the fence and comes straight back. But on this one occasion she went out and didn't come back."
Pam said Ellie is very approachable.
"You would be able to go up to her and pick her up. She wouldn't run away. She is so used to people because she used to be a house cat.
"I don't think she would have wandered off. There are several explanations for what's happened. Either she has gone onto the road and been run over, or somebody has got her. I just hope if someone has got her they are nice. My main worry is that somebody has done something horrible to her."
Have you seen Ellie the cat? Call Farringford Care Home on 01472 698991.
HELP OUT: Give a pet a home at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/pets4you
