Some people don't understand why LaRayne Haakenson would offer a $1,000 reward for Fluffy. Even some of her friends don't get it.

But anyone who's a true pet lover understands in the way that "it's just an animal" folks don't.

But if you see a big white, long-haired cat with piercing blue eyes, call Haakenson, because she's starting to lose hope. Fluffy, 2 1/2 years old, has been gone about three weeks now, and Haakenson is hoping that he'll still come home, somehow.

Fluffy was her big baby, who loved to be held like a baby, on his back, she said. She found him one March, 2 days old, lying in her rock garden. She fed him with a bottle and returned him to where his mother had her nest. He'd never stray from her property south of Bismarck near Fox Island on his own, she believes. Fluffy is neutered, so he's not out searching for ladies.

"If he could come home, he would," she said.

Since he so resembles a purebred that even pizza delivery guys would want to take his picture, Haakenson wonders if somebody mistook him for one and took him home. She's hoping he wasn't a meal for a mountain lion, which some folks have told her they think they've heard around the area.

Haakenson has been searching through her rural neighborhood, asking her neighbors if they've seen Fluffy or if they'd mind checking their sheds and outbuildings to make sure Fluffy didn't get accidentally locked in. She's walked and walked and walked, in ditches, everywhere, she said. Even finding remains would be some comfort, some closure, she said.

And to make it tougher, her kitten developed a fatal disease and had to be put to sleep in August, she said. Haakenson's dog has cancer, as well, she said.

"It's like he vanished into thin air," Haakenson said. She keeps her cell phone with her at all times and has rushed to many a false alarm where someone called and reported a stray cat. So far, it hasn't been Fluffy.

Fluffy was one of a litter of 10 kittens that Haakenson has looked out for since their birth at a neighbors' place. Though they live outdoors, she's provided them with a heated garden shed and heated kennel pads and plenty of food.

She's paid for the spaying, neutering and vaccinations of a number of them out of her own pocket. Some are skittish and won't come too close, but Fluffy was different.

So Haakenson took out a large "have you seen this cat?" ad in the Tribune's Sunday "Celebrate" magazine. She got 12 calls on Sunday alone - some had leads on strays, and others just wanted to offer kind words of support, she said.

"Pet lovers are a compassionate bunch," she said. She said she's thankful for all the kind words and messages she's gotten from people.

Haakenson is offering the reward "no questions asked," she said. If Fluffy's finder would refuse the reward, the money will go to the Humane Society, she said.

Because one of her cats returned after a whole year, she's still able to hope Fluffy will come back too.

Fluffy was wearing a humane breakaway collar with Missouri Valley Veterinary Clinic rabies tag, she said. His photo makes him look more orange than he is, she said; at a distance, he would look pure white. He has piercing blue eyes and a tiny black dot on the side of his nose.

He might be skittish of strangers or he might come to his name or even "kitty."

So, if somebody sees Fluffy, Haakenson wants them to call her at 223-1715 or on her cell phone at 220-5165.