SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A woman has posted a large reward for the safe return of her beloved cat – a cool grand.

Meiko the cat has been missing since July 1. His owner, Heather Rosvold is offering a $1,000 reward for his safe return. - photo courtesy of Heather Rosvold

Heather Rosvold said Meiko, a brown tabby with black stripes on his tail, white paws and chest and “a little on the fat side,” has been missing since July 2, and is offering $1,000 for his safe return.

“I put up $400 initially when he first went missing. Then my aunt in Calgary heard the cat was gone and she put up $500, so I increased my contribution by $100 to being the reward to an even $1,000,” said Rosvold.

“There are a lot of good people in Yellowknife, but even the best of us are often motivated more by money than emotion,” Rosvold said when asked why she's offering such a large reward.

She has put up posters all over the city with a photo of Meiko and announcing the reward money.

Rosvold said she received a photo of her cat alive and well as recently as this past Friday.

“He was just resting on a rock near the Biston Estates apartment, which is where he went missing from,” she said.

The cat had actually being staying with Rosvold's friends at Bison Estates for the past year while she dealt with someone who has allergy issues at her apartment building nearby.

“None of my friends are quite sure how he got out. I'm past worrying about that. I just want to get him back,” said Rosvold.

“I've had dozens of responses since he went missing, which has been heartwarming. Some people were sure that they'd seen him downtown, so that's why I said on the posters that he could be downtown.”

Rosvold said she has even heard from the RCMP when a constable called last week, asking whether Meiko had been found.

She said she's received dozens of responses, including phone calls. messages on Facebook and tweets.

“The response from Yellowknife has been overwhelming,” Rosvold said.

Meiko has been a part of Rosvold's family for about five years – before she made the move to Yellowknife, she said.

“I brought him and another cat with me when I moved to Yellowknife from Nova Scotia in early 2011,” she said, adding the other cat is currently being boarded at a kennel until she moves into a new place that will be more cat-friendly.

“I remain very hopeful that Meiko will be found safe and sound,” she said.

“I'm not giving up hope and I'm optimistic that the generous reward will pay off.”