A pet owner is appealing for help to locate her missing ginger cat after it was startled and ran away at Gardens by the Bay on Sunday (May 10). 

In an Facebook post on May 11, user Shermaine Tan wrote that the incident occurred near the Bayfront Plaza car park. The ginger cat, Bravo, had been taken out of its carrier and initially appeared calm, but panicked moments later and bolted towards nearby bushes that lead into a vegetated area. 

Tan wrote that food and snacks were placed in the area where it fled, in hopes of luring it back. One person was stationed at the spot it was last seen while another went searching within a 500m radius, she said in her post.

Tan added that park rangers were also alerted and are helping in the search. 

Bravo's owners, Tan and Wei Cheng, also created a Telegram group titled Bravo Search Party 2026 on May 11 to coordinate search efforts, adding that they believe Bravo "hasn't eaten or drunk in the last 20 hours". 

The channel has 479 subscribers so far. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bravo (@hellobravothecat)

In another Instagram video on May 11, Tan shared that the search for Bravo is still ongoing and that Bravo’s harness and AirTag were left behind when it fled. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Tan and Gardens by the Bay for more information. 

An Instagram video on March 13 revealed that Bravo was previously a stray kitten that "quickly became our community cat and won everyone's heart". 

Tan added that she eventually adopted the cat. 

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A post shared by Shermaine Tan (@helloshermaine)

Netizens divided in comments 

Many netizens offered suggestions on how to lure Bravo back, while others questioned why it was brought out in the first place. 

"Come back at night when it is more quiet. He will recognise your voice. Bring kibbles in container and shake it. Hope you find him soon," wrote one user. 

Another suggested "trying the Japanese method" — whispering to stray cats by sharing your pet's name, its appearance and how much you miss them, in hopes that other cats will bring it home. 

One netizen wrote that owners shouldn't unleash pets when bringing them out as they will just run away. 

Another commented: "Don’t understand why people want to bring their cat to walk like a dog or kid? Before you want to bring your cat for a walk, you need to understand which breed of cats actually enjoying going out."

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esther.lam@asiaone.com