A much-loved cat who spent years comforting and greeting visitors outside Tauranga Hospital has disappeared.

Steps, a 12-year-old tabby affectionately known as the hospital cat, was last seen curled up beside his bed by the hospital steps on Clarke St about 11pm on Monday.

His kennel near the carpark elevator has also disappeared.

Owner Quinn Pratt said while Steps had wandered off before, it was unusual for both the cat and his little house to disappear.

The cat has more than 4300 Facebook followers and, within 24 hours of the first appeal for sightings, news of his disappearance had spread across Bay of Plenty and Waikato community pages.

“It’s been a real reminder of just how much this little cat means to so many people.”

Pratt and his wife, Emily, brought Steps and his brother home as kittens after a hunting trip to Murupara about 12 years ago.

He said it was not long before Steps chose a different life.

Steps made the hospital steps his home and became a familiar face to thousands of staff, patients and visitors.

“For the last five years or so, Steps has really been a community asset rather than a pet belonging to a single family.”

The small house where Steps slept is now missing, along with the cat himself.

The family previously lived near the hospital on Clarke St but moved to Welcome Bay late last year.

Pratt said rather than uproot Steps from the place he had claimed as home, they arranged for neighbour Karla Horn to become his day-to-day caretaker.

He said Horn had done “an incredible job” caring for Steps, who spent most evenings at her house before returning to the hospital each morning.

The family remains hopeful someone believed they were helping and will return Steps soon.

“He spends much of his time around the Emergency Department and has become famous for comforting patients and their families.

“It’s not uncommon for him to jump onto a patient’s bed or curl up beside someone who is having a difficult day. He seems to have an incredible ability to know who needs a little comfort.”

Pratt said the response to Steps’ disappearance had been overwhelming.

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford was among those who shared the appeal for sightings, while dozens of people offered to put up flyers, check CCTV footage and join the search.

Steps is known for sensing distress and offering quiet companionship to visitors.

Despite the concern, Pratt remains hopeful.

He said Steps is microchipped and had gone missing several times before being picked up by a well-meaning member of the public.

“Local vets know him - and know me - well enough that I’ve had phone calls saying, ‘Quinn, your cat’s here again’.”

Pratt said what made this disappearance unusual was that Steps’ shelter was also gone.

“I’m hopeful that someone simply believed they were doing the right thing and will soon realise that Steps belongs exactly where he’s always chosen to be.

“Hopefully he’ll be returned home very soon.”

Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post.