Desperate hunt for cat stolen during burglary

Burglars are believed to have taken six-year-old Bella from Ruth Anelay's second-floor flat in Moortown on New Year's Eve.

The domestic short-hair, who is not a pedigree breed, has never been outside before and Ruth is worried for her welfare. She believes her cat could have been taken to be given as a present to somebody after the offenders left without finding money or jewellery in the property.

Ruth has now begun a poster campaign to try and trace her pet and has also set up a Facebook page, Finding Bella.

"Since New Year's Day I have been walking the streets putting posters up, flyers through doors, and people from all over Leeds have been contacting me with messages about finding Bella. I need to make sure that she is 'too hot to handle' in case she has been given to someone as a present over the New Year period."

Ruth's efforts to raise awareness of Bella's plight have already seen another pet owner in Hunslet reunited with her own missing cat by social media users.

"I am desperate to find her, she is my baby and I need her home. Bella has never been outside, she won't even go on my balcony or out of the window."

As a house cat, Bella is not microchipped and does not have a collar, although she has been spayed and has no breeding value.

Anyone who has information about Bella's disappearance can contact Ruth by email at [email protected].