Socks has been living around the ballpark for about 10 years. One of her caretakers, Sharon, said she first spotted Socks and another cat, Smokey, while taking long walks during her lunch hour before she retired. She said the feedings turned into a daily occurrence. 

After 10 years of showing up daily, Socks’ caretakers said, something spooked her, so she stopped showing up as frequently. Eventually, she stopped appearing at all. Earlier this month, an X account dedicated to the cat made a post looking for help finding her. Before Socks was found, Sharon told 9NEWS she was concerned something terrible had happened to her, and she just wanted closure for the cat. 

“We’re just so concerned that something has happened and we’re just really not sure what it is,” Sharon said. “I think this is kind of our final plea to see if anybody knows anything about her before, you know, before we just kind of end her story, unfortunately.”

Two days after local media reported on the missing cat, an X account dedicated to Socks said she had been spotted very early in the morning with another cat. That account said it’s “pretty much confirmed” that aggressive raccoons are what scared her away.

For more information, read more from our news partners at 9NEWS.com.