'Most Unique Cat' Still Missing After Copiauge House Fire

COPIAGUE NY — A Long Island family is taking great lengths to find a beloved cat who went missing during a Copiague house fire.

Gibson, or "Gibbs", a "very friendly" tuxedo cat, went missing on Dec. 27, when his owner's Surf Road home went ablaze.

Valerie, or "Aunt Val" told Patch that her nephew, Ralphie, who is Gibbs' owner, and his dog, Klash, were injured. Several firefighters were also injured, officials said.

Ralphie is still undergoing medical treatment for second and third-degree burns, she said. More than $3,000 has been raised in a GoFundMe to support his medical bills. The dog sustained injuries, smoke inhalation and burns to the skin, but has since been released from a veterinary hospital, she said.

But after the chaos of the incident died down, Gibbs was nowhere to be found.

"Just being the animal advocate that I am — and my whole family is — it pulls on your heartstrings," she said.

Valerie, who declined to use her last name, said that she, other family members, and tracker John DeBacker of Long Island Cat Kitten Solution, have installed outdoor feeding cameras in the Surf Road location.

While they have received multiple sightings from the community, none have been successful.

"We have been as far as Massapequa with sightings and they will panned out to not be him," she said.

Valerie told Patch that Gibbs is a very affectionate cat, who could do commands sit, stay, and give a paw, like a dog.

"He was the most unique cat you've ever met in your life," said Valerie. "He had no clue that he was a cat."

The family also created and have shared a flyer amongst multiple social media pages.

Valerie said that atop of her nephew's injuries and looking for the cat, she and other family members feel exhausted.

"It's just consuming me," she said. "My husband said 'You need to step back a little you have bags under your eyes from being out all night and crying."

The most difficult part about this, she said, is not having closure.

"If he passed, it will be horrible,"said Valerie. "But I think if we're never going to know what happened then it's going to be just a lifelong grief."

If you have any information about Gibbs, contact 631-921-6310 or 631-855-8700.

To donate to Ralphie's GoFundMe, click here.