Man's 20,000 km quest to reunite with missing cat Nero
Rafael Klajnszmit from the German city of Eschwege has been searching for his missing cat for 10 months. He has travelled over 20,000 kilometres and spent £16,000 conducting an intensive search. The man still believes that his pet will return home one day. The touching story of the owner who misses his beloved pet was told by German media.
On 13th July 2024, German Rafael Klajnszmit went on a trip from Eschwege in Hesse to southern Bavaria. "My wife was in rehab there, and I wanted to visit her and spend the holiday with her," he reported to inFranken.de. Since he wanted to "make his wife happy," he also took the two cats, Nero and Tommy.
Klajnszmit stopped in Erlangen, where he planned to spend the night at a hotel. Upon arrival, he took out the transport crates from the car, in which the cats travelled. Unfortunately, one of them was not properly secured - Nero jumped out of it and ran away.
At that moment, Rafael Klajnszmit last saw his beloved cat. Although 10 months have passed, the man still believes his pet will return home.
Spent £16,000 to find the cat
Every Friday after work, the man gets into his car and travels from Eschwege to Erlangen. To get there, he covers nearly 300 kilometres one way. He dedicates the entire weekend to finding Nero.
"Nero is still alive. He has a microchip implanted, and so far, I haven't received any messages from the police or the road maintenance department that he isn't alive. Either he is travelling around Erlangen or returning home," explains Rafael Klajnszmit in an interview with "Bild".
The man has already travelled over 20,000 kilometres and spent £16,000 on fuel, hotels, food, and cat food. During his visits to Erlangen, he is involved in, among other things, replenishing food supplies at animal stations. Cameras have been installed in them, and Klajnszmit hopes they will capture Nero one day.
"We printed 10,000 flyers and hung them everywhere. But the public order office banned it three weeks ago after residents' complaints. Now, we distribute the flyers," emphasises the interlocutor of "Bild".
The man is also active on social media. The Facebook account "Nero - the boy missing in Erlangen" has over 3,000 followers. Some actively participate in the search.
"We miss him immensely," reads one of many touching posts. Nero is "more than a cat," he is "part of the family," the owners emphasise.
"Giving up is not an option for us; we don't even think about it," Klajnszmit assured in an interview with German media.
