“Enough is enough. I won’t get another cat after this,” Darren Delaney, 52, said.

Mr Delaney lives alone in a unit block in William Street and said the companionship he enjoyed from cats was important to his emotional wellbeing.

But the heartbreak he endures when they go missing is too much.

Last month, Mr Delaney came to the realisation that his latest pet, Maxi, a desexed 12-month-old jet black male cat, wasn’t coming home.

Mr Delaney fears that Maxi, and his three previous cats – Soxy, Soxy (again), and Fluffy – all met with foul play.

“There are some evil people out there,” he said.

“The affection that Maxi showed me was adorable. All of my cats were like family. You could talk to them like a human. It’s unreal the bond that you can have with a cat.”

Mr Delaney said his cats were well fed, well treated, didn’t annoy the neighbours, and were allowed out of his home for only short periods in the morning.

“I just thought it was cruel to keep them inside for months at a time. So I’d let them outside to get some fresh air and be in the real environment,” he said.

The cats never strayed far, and would soon miaow at his door when they wanted to come back inside, he said.

Maxi wore a blue collar, but he wasn’t microchipped. The RSPCA has been advised.

Pets that are microchipped can more easily be reunited with their owners if they are handed in.

Mr Delaney said he was clinging to some hope that Maxi had simply befriended another family who had taken him in as their own.

Maxi is, after all, a very tame and affectionate animal.

“That could be possible,” Mr Delaney said.

“But it’s heartbreaking to think that there’s been foul play and he won’t be coming home. Not knowing is the hardest thing.

“It would be lovely if Maxi could be returned to me.”

Can you help to reunite Mr Delaney and Maxi? Phone the Lakes Mail on 0488 280184.

Mayor’s message: Free microchipping for pets

How microchipped pets are reunited with their owners