Paxton store owner searches for missing cat

PAXTON, Ill. (WCIA) — A beloved cat that lives at Paxton Hardware & Rental has been missing since Oct. 7.

WCIA’s partners with the Ford County Chronicle reported that Tapcon is a black cat, with green eyes and a patch of white fur on his chest.

Scott Allen is the owner of the hardware store. He said staff has been searching for Tapcon since Oct. 8.

“I hate it, that’s for sure,” Allen said to the Ford County Chronicle. “But I’m still hopeful. I think he’s going to come back.”

Allen said that Tapcon’s sister, Molly, returned alone the night that Tapcon went missing. The siblings were born in Sept. of 2022 and have lived at the store since they were about seven weeks old.

“His sister Molly is very sad,” Allen said. “It’s apparent. She used to basically avoid me all the time, for the most part, and he was the one that would come up and love on me, but now she misses him so much that she’s always coming around me, meowing at me, like, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ So, she’s really missing him, and she’s very sad.”

Allen said store employees have struggled to find the cats before, but neither have been gone for this long before.

“We’ll find them asleep sometimes on the top shelves,” Allen said, “and I’ve seen them curled up on the stools that are 10, 12 feet in the air. They love to climb, and sometimes they just want to get away from people.”

Since Tapcon’s disappearance, Allen said he’s looked over surveillance video, the railroad cut, other areas around the store and in Paxton and used social media to inform the community.

But, one possible reason that Tapcon could still be missing has been worrying him.

“[Store staff] mentioned that [they] had seen some customers try to put the cat in their car and had to tell them no,” Allen said.

Allen also said he has been concerned about predators out in the wild finding Tapcon.

“I do worry,” Allen said, “because there’s a lot of critters in the cut — foxes, quite a few of them. So, we have some worry there.”

Molly has remained near both Paxton Hardware & Rental and Allen the last couple of days.

“Ever since this happened, Molly only goes out for just a few minutes — she comes right back,” Allen said. “It’s like she’s waiting for him, looking for him. She doesn’t go very far anymore, it seems.”

Tapcon is a friendly cat according to him.

“He loves contact with people — he’s very gentle — so if somebody calls for him, there’s a good chance he’ll come right up,” Allen said. “He loves to hang out.”

Allen asks that if anyone sees Tapcon to call the store at 217-379-3611. Tapcon is wearing a gray collar that has a metal strap with him name on it.

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