Terrified and injured, Ghislaine Maxwell’s cat went missing for days after raid

Maxwell was with her rescue cat at her £800,000 New Hampshire property at 8.20am on July 2 when the door was bashed down

A massive ‘cat-hunt’ was launched after Ghislaine Maxwell’s terrified pet ran off injured when 60 armed FBI agents and police used a battering ram to smash down her door.

Maxwell was with her rescue cat at her £800,000 New Hampshire property at 8.20am on July 2 when the door was bashed down.

A source familiar with the FBI operation said: ‘All hell broke loose. The door was smashed in along with half the front wall. The cat was injured and terrified out of its wits and took off into the woods.’

As Maxwell was hauled off in handcuffs to Merrimack County jail, her pet was forced to fend for itself in the 156-acre woods around her home – the area is filled with bears and porcupines. 

‘In the middle of everything else, a major mission was launched to save this poor animal which had been hurt and was out there trying to avoid being eaten by a bear,’ said a source. 

‘There were security people and highly paid lawyers out there looking in the woods. No-one wanted any harm to come to this poor creature.’

The search went on for four days before the cat was finally discovered. The animal has been treated and is doing well.

‘The irony is, the front door was unlocked so there was no reason to smash it down with a battering ram and cause so much chaos and damage. It was overkill and the poor cat was an innocent victim.’

As Maxwell was hauled off in handcuffs to Merrimack County jail, her pet was forced to fend for itself in the 156-acre woods around her home – the area is filled with bears and porcupines

Maxwell, who had not been seen in public since Epstein killed himself in a New York jail after being charged with multiple child sex offenses, bought the stunning home in Bradford, New Hampshire, in an all-cash deal last December.

It is in the name of Granite LLC and, unlike her London property, has not been put up as part of her bail surety.

On Friday Maxwell’s lawyers said six friends and family members have offered to put up $5 million for her to get bail, which includes her mews home in London’s Belgravia, worth more than £3 million.

The mews home is where the infamous picture of Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts was taken in 2001, on the night she says she was first forced to have sex with the Prince

The mews home is where the infamous picture of Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts was taken in 2001, on the night she says she was first forced to have sex with the Prince.

Andrew vehemently denies all claims and said in his Newsnight interview he did not recall ever meeting Ms Roberts and was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night in question.

Maxwell has offered to rent a home in New York if granted bail at Tuesday’s hearing and to pay for private security.

Her lawyers argue she never tried to flee during the past 12 months and never left the country despite having UK, US and French passports.

She will wear an ankle tag and be monitored round the clock if she is allowed out of jail.