Couple in plea to find cats’ ashes
Cremated remains of pets were in Range Rover when it was stolen
A DISTRAUGHT couple have put up a £200 reward after their Range Rover was stolen with the ashes of three much-loved cats inside.
Naomi Rhys Thomas, 48, used to run a cat rescue and now takes in sick and abandoned cats with her husband, Toby.
She said: “We don’t care about the car, but we are desperate to get the ashes back.”
The couple had 27 cats at their home near Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough, Rochdale.
Three sadly passed away before Christmas – Nana Florence, Archie and Eira.
Naomi said they were cremated at a pets crematorium in Bury and Toby collected the ashes on Wednesday.
He stopped at Kingsway Retail Park in Rochdale on the way home, but thieves stole the Range Rover Evoque from the car park after he briefly popped into a store.
The ashes were in a footwell, inside a standard ashes tube in a purple Legacy Pets bag, from the crematorium the couple used.
Naomi, who was forced to close Bluebell Cat Rescue in Littleborough in 2019 due to a lack of funding, said: “We do not want the car.
“We just want the cats.”
She said police were alerted and are investigating, but the ashes remain missing.
The couple also take in cats at the end of their lives from other rescues.
Naomi, a qualified solicitor, said she was planning to keep the cats in a memorial urn, alongside other urns they have in their home.
“The car is just metal and it’s insured but our cats’ ashes are priceless,” she said.
Naomi said the theft occurred just before 4pm on March 31 as Toby was inside The Range store.
“He came out to smashed glass all over the floor,” she said.
“There were lots of people around at the time and it was busy.”
Naomi said she fears the ashes tube may have been dumped.
“I cannot bear the thought that we will not have them back,” she said.
The Range Rover is black with the registration number MV12 OKR.
Anyone with information can email Naomi at: bluebellcatrescue@gmail. com