My family is desperately searching for our lost Maine Coon, Kuma. His name means "bear" in Japanese.

Kuma was last seen around 6 am on Jan. 15, 2012, near the 4500 block of Cleveland Ave. between Madison and Monroe, in University Heights. He simply vanished.

Tragic Update: On Jan. 31, 2012 at 11 am, workmen found Kuma's collar deep in the canyon behind the Maryland View apartments in University Heights.

Given the recovered collar, we must assumed he either went into the canyon and got lost or was taken there by coyotes, which have been spotted in the area he disappeared. If lost, Kuma no longer has ID, since he isn't "chipped".

He is a handsome cat, with patchy grey, white, black and light brown colors. Kuma's most distinctive features are the coon tail with white tip at the end and asymmetrical light brown patch on his face. He wore a green collar with identity tag when lost. The photos do better to identify him than can my description. Kuma is typically friendly, but skittish.

Have you seen Kuma?