Jemima calls the police - and you know Hugh - to help find her £1,000 cat

But when the cat in question is of the expensive Bengal variety, it seems the matter is more significant.

Especially when the owner happens to be Jemima Khan.

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The pet was one of two Bengals given to Miss Khan by her on-off boyfriend Hugh Grant. The 33-year-old heiress was said to be distraught when both cats went missing in mysterious circumstances last week.

Although one of the prized, £900 creatures has been located, Miss Khan rang the police on Monday afternoon after being unable to locate its sibling.

Within 24 hours, two female Metropolitan police officers turned up at Miss Khan's London home to investigate the case, giving it priority status on the basis that the missing Bengal was "high-value property".

Helped by the 46-year-old Grant, police searched high and low for the wayward pet, but to no avail. The Notting Hill star eventually left the house looking rather weary and dispirited.

With no evidence to suggest that the animal's disappearance was suspicious - despite high levels of black-market Bengal trading - the police say they are unlikely to invest further resources on the case.

Miss Khan and Grant, who are rumoured to have got engaged since apparently splitting in February, are understandably distressed about the missing animal. They have put up posters offering a £100 reward in the hope of getting it back.

While officers were quick to respond to Miss Khan's missing pet, they appear less keen to do so on the rather less trivial matter of burglaries.

Indeed, six months ago it emerged that the Met is refusing to send officers to break-ins if the suspect has already fled the scene. Instead, they now dispatch only civilian "scenes of crime" staff to examine the burglary for evidence.

A Scotland Yard spokesman defended the police's rather enthusiastic response to Miss Khan's distress call.

"A call was logged on the 18th June but police officers did not attend the address until the 19th," he said.

"It was not treated as a 999 call, but because of the high value of the missing property - a Bengal cat is not your average moggy - we feel that the response was perfectly normal and proportionate to the value.

"Although the cat is believed to be at

large, there is no evidence to suggest that its disappearance is suspicious and unless further evidence emerges to the contrary, no further action will be taken."

With black-market pedigree Bengals known to have fetched up to £2,000 per animal, there are fears that it may have been stolen.

However, Peter Edwards, from the Bengal Cat Club of Great Britain, said: "Bengal cats used to be targeted by thieves ten years ago when they sold for several thousand pounds.

"But without the paperwork proving their origin they probably aren't worth much more than any other pedigree cat. I hope Jemima gets her cat back."

• The Bengal is a modern creation as a pet, first bred by crossing an Asian leopard cat with a domestic shorthaired cat in 1975.

They are sought after for their exotic look - spotted or marbled patterns on a white or orange-brown coat - and some UK breeders have a waiting list of more than a year. The cheapest kittens sell for about £450, with prices starting at £1,000 for a pedigree show-cat. The purest bred Bengal in Britain, called Zeus, came with a price-tag of £100,000.

Although domesticated, they retain wild hunting instincts. There are 30,000 Bengal cats registered in Britain. Famous owners of the breed include Lord Archer, Jonathan Ross and actor Kevin Bacon.