Neighbors concerned about ‘disappeared’ neighbour, two neglected cats removed from home

“I didn’t trust it and knocked on the front door, then only the two cats came running,” neighbor Monique explains. Black flies ticking against the window inside. A nasty feeling comes over her and so she raises the alarm.

Shortly after dinner time last night, the police come to take a closer look. The kitchen window is smashed to enter the house. “They nearly passed out. It really smelled awful all over the gallery, the air was coming towards you.” The resident is not home.

Voicemail

Monique sometimes has a chat with him. “He is a withdrawn man, very private.” But where is he now? “He sometimes goes to his mother. He also had a car, which is also gone. The police have called a number of telephone numbers from him, but always get voicemail. It is still a mystery,” says Monique.

The glass of the kitchen window was immediately replaced yesterday. But inside you can see how the house is doing. The kitchen is littered with stuff, packaging, cans and boxes of cat food. Monique: “The house is badly neglected and so are the cats. They were completely bald at the back, as if they had mange. They were taken away by the animal ambulance, otherwise they would die.”

She has therefore contacted the animal ambulance to ask how the cats are. Unfortunately, they can’t answer that yet. “We come to the scene and provide the first care and transport. They looked bad and unkempt,” says Fred Perrier of Dierenambulance Hoorn eo.

Last night the cats were first transferred to a temporary shelter. In the event of confiscation, the cats end up with a storage container. “These are shelters spread across the country. That is arranged by the police. When seized, we do not know where they go.”

Small bits of food

He does know that they are treated with finesse. “They first get small portions of food. Because if they have actually been without for two weeks, a full bowl of food comes out just as fast.” It’s counterproductive. “They lose even more moisture by vomiting. And you don’t want that.”

Resident Jan Bakker, the point of contact for the residents of De Reiger, is also very shocked. “A few months ago I was not allowed to enter his home. Then I wanted to help look at a leak.” In retrospect, Bakker understands why. “I’m sorry about what happened and that we couldn’t help earlier. I always had a chat with him, he didn’t look very unkempt.”

note

Bakker put a note on the door this morning, in case the resident comes home. “We hope to hear from him soon and of course hope that he gets good help.” Neighbor Monique thinks so too. “It’s quite a shock, you keep an eye on the neighbors. We just have to wait and see. Help is being arranged. I hope he will be okay, I did my best and I can’t do more now.”

There is no suspicion of a missing person, the police are trying to contact the resident.