An appeal has been launched by a distraught cat owner after her tabby went missing last week.

A 15-year-old tabby called Simba disappeared from his owner’s house in Haddon Close, Stevenage, on Wednesday, August 12.

Worried owner Barbara Waite told the Comet: “I’m distraught – he’s such a lovely cat. We’ve had him for 15 years and he was a rescue cat.

“He has a white chin but des not have any white on his legs or paws.

“I fell in love with him the first time I met him. He was such a noisy thing – which is why we realised he had gone missing, as the house was so quiet on Thursday morning.

“My two kids are so upset, too. My son Carlos, daughter Laura and myself have been out with torches looking for him until midnight most evenings since he went missing.

“He’s such a friendly cat, he would always just plonk himself on your lap and make himself at home. He’s a bit of a glutton too.

“We are so worried. We hope someone reading this in the Comet will have seen him.”