CAT thieves may be operating in the Wotton-under-Edge area.

Andrew Sainsbury believes he has had two cats stolen within a few weeks.

At the beginning of the month Aleshia, a long-haired black moggy, disappeared.

Mr Sainsbury said: "We did all the usual things, hunted for her, asked the neighbours, looked in sheds, phoned the council highways. She wasn't anywhere to be found."

The cat was microchipped so, if anyone found her, the owner could be traced.

After two weeks of searching, the Sainsbury household had almost given up hope.

Then at the weekend their other cat, Moonshine, disappeared.

She is a valuable cat, a Maincoon breed, and rarely strays out of the garden.

The Sainsburys discovered a gate left open on their land and tyre tracks through it.

Then on Saturday night Aleshia returned. She seemed well-fed and brushed, but afraid to be approached.

Mr Sainsbury believes thieves had originally intended to steal the valuable cat, that they first took the 'moggy' by mistake, returned for Moonshine, and then when the two cats started fighting - their normal behaviour - decided to get rid of the first one.

And now, Moonshine, the pedigree cat, has been found - wandering the streets of Bearlands in Wotton-under-Edge.

When she was first missing, Mr Sainsbury reported the matter to the police, hoping extra publicity would prevent Moonshine being sold.

A police spokesman said: "This seems a strange, isolated incident. There have been no other reports of stolen cats or dogs recently."

Stroud branch of the Cats Protection League has also been informed about the incident but is not aware of any other problems in the Wotton-under-Edge area at present.

A spokesman said: "There was a spate last year of cats disappearing from the same area but this has not been repeated."

Although delighted to be reunited with Moonshine, Andrew Sainsbury is convinced she was stolen.

"She would never have gone that far from home", he said.

He added: "Perhaps the thieves got more than they bargained for with Moonshine - she's a bit of an escapologist."

Moonshine was microchipped, enabling vets to discover the cat's real owner.

She was found to be in good condition, though a bit shaken by her ordeal.

Mr Sainsbury said: "Not only is this theft symptomatic of increasing rural crime, it is depriving people of their loved pet."