UPDATE: A missing pet group out of Washington has stepped in to help find Max.
Missing Pet Partnership says cats cat hide in silence for weeks and still be found alive. Leaders said they are optimistic Max is alive, hiding in the drop ceiling.
The group's founder is in Canada but is helping consult on the case.
ORIGINAL STORY
A Las Vegas valley pet owner is heartbroken after one of her four cats went missing while she was out of town.
The woman left her four cats at Southwest Animal Hospital near Tropicana Avenue and Jones Boulevard. When she returned a week later, she was told that her cat named Max was missing.
Susan Rasmussen says that she was told that Max attacked a staff member when her cage was being cleaned and then took off.
The staff at the hospital told Susan that Max pushed her way into the drop ceiling through a tile. However, the staff admitted later that the ceiling tile was missing.
Susan is worried that if Max got into the ceiling, she may have eaten the insulation and died.
However, she is not sure that is where Max went.
Some staff members reportedly told Susan that they had heard Max above them while other staff members said they had not heard any noises.
Dr. Pete Perron at the hospital spoke to 13 Action News.
He confirmed the story about the attack and also said that Max escaped into the ceiling area. He said the hospital had never had such an incident happen in 29 years and they do all they can to keep everything in good repair.
Max has been missing a week and Dr. Perron says he is not optimistic that the cat is still alive. He also told us that he has been at the hospital alone at night and never heard anything.
The hospital did not charge Susan for Max's stay. In fact, she got no record at all that the cat had ever even been at the hospital. She only received paperwork for her other three cats.
Susan has raised Max since she was two weeks old.
