MEMBERS of an Eastleigh family believe the “mystery beast” that has been reported to be prowling the streets could be their missing pet.

Descriptions likening the “big cat” to a snow leopard have renewed Jill Downie’s hopes of a reunion with “Chui”, who went missing eight months ago.

He’s certainly a very big cat, with a similar grey and white colouring and distinctive bright blue eyes, and he is indeed a Snow Leopard Bengal Machui. That’s the name of the breed.

Jill, 34, said she and her family were devastated when Chui went missing from their Boyatt Wood home.

When she saw reports of a mystery animal prowling in bushes and rummaging in bins in the Valley Park area of Chandler’s Ford, she thought, perhaps, it could be their cat, who would now be aged 18 months.

“We had given up all hope of finding him, butthis big cat sounds just like Chui.

“He was such a friendly cat and he loved being fussed over. He had a sweet nature and was family-orientated.

If he has been out there all alone and living wild, he might be a nervous thing now.”

The “big cat” that could be Chui has been seen by several people with some saying it was four times the size of a domestic feline.

Among those who have seen it is county, district and parish councillor, Alan Dowden, who said he and his wife, Celia, also a councillor, were in Knightwood Road when it walked past them.

He sketched the animal, which he described as of “wolfish”appearance, and alerted schools in the area.

“I have never seen anything like it before, either in a zoo or in the wild,” he said. “It may well not be aggressive, but I wouldn’t want it sitting on my bed.”

Grandmother, Dianne Moran, 66, said she had received “the shock of her life” when she saw a huge animal walk across her patio, leap over her high garden fence and disappear up an alleyway.

She said she had since seen the animal twice close to the woods near Knightwood School.

“At first, I thought it was a wolf, but when I saw it close up, it was clearly a cat. I’m so relieved to learn that other people had seen it. My children told me I was losing my mind,” she said.

Marwell Wildlife’s Bill Hall is sceptical about it being a true big cat: “You don’t get many cats of this colouring unless you are halfway up the Himalayas and then you’re talking snow leopard and I think we can rule that out,” he said.

“Big cats need big food.

We are not hearing reports of dogs being dragged off in the middle of the night or horses being killed.

“I am 99.9 per cent sure that this is an unusual-looking dog or large domestic cat.”