After home hearth, Derby household searches for lacking cat

DERBY – When Milagros Marrero woke up to the sound of a fire alarm at 2 a.m. on May 26, she rushed her daughter out of her home at 5 Mason Street, stopping only to knock on her lower neighbor’s door to show them off to warn the fire.

The fire that had broken out on the back porch, Marrero said, quickly devoured the back of the house.

Everyone made it safely, but Marrero said when she knocked on her neighbor’s door she noticed a family member was missing.

“When I saw her puppy, I immediately remembered the cat,” said Marrero.

The cat, a black and white tuxedo cat named Cujo, was last seen by the fireman running in the house, according to Marrero.

The fire department has yet to find the cat, which gives Marrero hope that Cujo made it and may still be in the area. Marrero said she visited the scene of the fire every day to look for the cat. She has made a habit of skipping cat food in the hopes that Cujo will be drawn back into the house. But so far their efforts have been unsuccessful.

“Unfortunately the food is still there. So I don’t know I think she was in the area, ”she said.

Marrero and her family lived in Derby for two years, as long as Cujo. The cat was a gift from her cousin and quickly became a valued family member. She said the cat was particularly close to her daughter.

The family is now staying in a hotel in Shelton and is looking for a place to stay. An online fundraiser at gofundme.com raised nearly $ 6,500 for its $ 10,000 goal.

The donations came from local donors, and a large number of people Marrero said she did not know. But most of the time, she’s still hoping someone will help reunite her family. She said she continued to comfort her daughter and told her not to lose hope.

“I tell her that we hope that someone will find her, someone who is nice, and will take her to a shelter and that they will contact us,” she said.

Anyone who has seen Cujo is asked to call (203) 572-6751.