Saroj Debnath, a resident of ward 6 of Alipurduar town, his daughter Sabarni and other family members are frantically in search of Chiggi for the past five days.

They have circulated pamphlets, requesting people for information in case they locate six-year-old Chiggi or return him to them and have also made public announcements across the town to trace him.

Chiggi is the pet tomcat of Sabarni, who has been with her for over five years.

“He is like our family member. We can’t think of living without him. My daughter is very upset as the cat has gone missing. We are putting all efforts to find Chiggi,” said Debnath, who is a retired government employee.

On May 10, Sabarni, who works as a receptionist at a dental clinic, found that Chiggi had developed an infection in one of his ears. She put her pet in a basket and went to the veterinary hospital that is in the Babupara area of the town.

As the vet asked her to open the lid of the basket so that Chiggi could be examined, he jumped out and ran away.

“I searched the entire veterinary hospital but could not find him. I immediately informed my father who was then in Calcutta (Sabarni’s brother works in Calcutta),” said Sabarni.

She said that back in 2016, her cousin and brother-in-law who stay in Hyderabad, had spotted the tabby cat — it was a kitten then — while jogging in the morning. They picked him up and took him home.

“They brought him to Calcutta that year and in December gave him to me. Since then, Chiggi is a cherished member of our family,” narrated Sabarni.

A couple of days back, the Debnath family printed around 2,000 pamphlets carrying details of the cat and their contact numbers. Those were circulated through newspapers across town.

“Cat around 2 feet, ash grey colour, green eyes, black patch on forehead, injured left ear and cheek, imbalanced gait, vertigo at times,” reads Chiggi’s description at the pamphlet.

The pamphlet — admittedly a rare one — left many Alipurduar residents surprised.

“We often receive pamphlets that are advertisements or announcements. It is rare that the Debnath family has circulated pamphlets to trace their pet,” said Santosh Basak, a resident.

As Chiggi remained untraced even after the pamphlets were circulated, on Saturday evening, the Debnath family took one more step that that continued on Sunday. They hired an e-rickshaw with a loudhailer to make public announcements, urging people to help them find Chiggi.

“We have shared our contact numbers and hope that if anybody spots Chiggi he will tell us,” said Debnath.

Sabarni is sure that Chiggi will return home. “I am keeping the faith,” she said.