THERE are growing concerns about the number of pet cats which have gone missing from Redditch is a short space of time.

Many of the pets have gone missing from Oakenshaw, but several have disappeared from other areas too.

One Oakenshaw resident, who did not want to be named, has been missing her 12-year-old cat since the end of December, and believes something sinister may be going on.

She said: "There seems to have been too many cats going missing from a small geographical area in such a small space of time for it to be a coincidence.

"Myself, and others, believe they are being taken by people, and possibly being sold to the food industry - this is not unheard of.

"No bodies seem to be turning up, so they are not being run over, or maybe shot with pellet guns, so it seems they are simply being picked up and carried away.

"I would urge people to please keep an eye out for their own cats, and to be vigilant in the street if they do see people acting strangely around cats."

On December 29, the 'Lost and Found Pets in Redditch area' group on Facebook posted that it had far more incidents of cats disappearing than normal.

It said: "We are not sure what is going on but it seems an unusually high number to go missing, so we would like to ask readers to be vigilant and to watch out for anything suspicious. Also of course to ask people to check their sheds and garages."

The administrators of the site also asked that if people have not already done so, they could post details and photos of their missing cats on Facebook so others around Redditch can keep an eye out.