A couple is still searching high and low for their beloved pet cat, who disappeared nearly a year ago.

Rafal and Monika Klajnszmit were traveling from their home in Eschwege, western Germany, to Bavaria last July when their cat, Nero, went missing along the way in Erlangen.

“I took the cat box out of the car and wanted to walk into the hotel. The box wasn’t shut properly and he got out,” Rafal, 53, told The Times.

In the months since Nero disappeared, the couple has spent over 20,000 euros ($22,560) on search efforts. Gas and hotel stays are among their regular expenses as they make the 300-mile round-trip journey from their home to Erlangen each weekend. There, they spend their time hanging missing cat flyers — about 10,000 so far, they told The Times — talking to residents and door knocking, and diligently refilling carefully placed food bowls with Nero’s favorite treat: tuna.

But Rafal highlighted an issue that could be preventing Nero from being found — his shy personality.

“He’s not the kind of cat who goes up to people to get stroked,” the cat owner revealed. “I can imagine he’s so scared that he only moves around at night.”

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They’ve enlisted the help of several volunteers in Erlangen who have kindly offered their time and efforts. They hang new posters and replenish food bowls, some of which have cameras attached that send alerts right to Rafal’s phone. The helpers also have microchip readers, provided by Rafal, so they can scan black cats they come across in the city.

“They’re on standby day and night, every hour, if I call them, they’ll get in the car and drive to read out the chip,” he shared with The Times.

While they’ve not yet heard good news, they also haven’t received the phone call any pet owner dreads.

“Nero’s chipped and if he had been found dead we would have been notified,” Rafal told The Times. “The vets and the motorway maintenance department say that when a dead animal is retrieved the chip is read.”

The couple’s efforts have been met with some resistance from locals in Erlangen who complained about the flyers being hung up. They’ve had to resort to physically handing out the posters instead.

Rafal and Monika have started a Facebook page where they share updates and photos of their furry family member in hopes someone in the Erlangen area will spot their boy. They also share stories and their hopes for Nero’s safe return.

“He means a lot to me. He’s a friend and a member of the family. And you don’t abandon your friends,” Rafal told The Times.

“I’m not giving up. I know he’s still alive.”

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