On Dec. 20, 2024, the UTSA community learned that Chaparral Village’s resident feral cat — Harry, or ‘Chap Cat’— had gone missing. The report came from Harry’s Instagram account, run by students and alumni, reading “We haven’t see[n] Harry all week at Chap. Reports of him being over at Laurel, Alvarez and the Ximenes Garage came in this week. We just want our handsome boy to be home for Christmas.” Six weeks later, there have been no confirmed sightings of Harry. —
“Harry’s been missing since Dec. 12, so we’re pretty worried about him,” said Dr. Karen Williams, a professor of Information Sciences at UTSA and faculty advisor of the Roadrunner Cat Coalition.
The Cat Coalition has been spearheading the search effort for Harry. A series of extensive searches conducted on campus and around the dorms have yielded no conclusive results. Paired with a lack of sightings and incident reports involving cats, the Coalition believes it possible someone could have taken him.
“I’m just concerned that somebody took him,” Williams said. “If he’s safe and happy and well, that’s wonderful. We sure would like to know. We want to know.”
“Our main theory was a student took him in because that’s when it started to get really cold,” said the owner of the @chap_cat Instagram account, who wished to remain anonymous. The account has been working in tandem with the Coalition to coordinate information regarding Harry. “We did notice that someone had put a collar on him this year, so maybe it was just a student who wanted to take care of him. If it is the student who has him, you won’t be in trouble. Please just let us know.”
Harry has been a member of the Roadrunner community for over 15 years. Although many have voiced their concerns over his age, Dr. Williams remains confident that it is not a factor in his disappearance, citing good health and regular vet appointments.
“He’s taken to the vet regularly. He’s lost a little bit of weight, but that’s normal for his age,” Williams said. “He looks good. There’s not anything wrong [with] him.”
Similar concerns regarding inclement weather and wandering off have also been dismissed, given Harry’s strong preference for Chaparral Village.
While findings are currently inconclusive, the Cat Coalition urges its members and students to stay hopeful and offer any information regarding Harry’s whereabouts. Information can be given to Williams at +1 (210) 316-0078 or to Harry’s Instagram account @chap_cat.
“We’re definitely still hopeful,” the owner of @chap_cat said. “The Roadrunner Cat Coalition is trying to remain hopeful that he is somewhere, and that if someone has him, he’ll come home.”