A sadistic cat killer may be at large in Croydon after a string of horrifying attacks have left pets dead or mutilated.
South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) issued a warning to pet owners after a cat was decapitated and dumped on a neighbour’s doorstep.
SNARL, the pet rescue charity, received a range of reports from pet lovers saying their cats had cruel injuries such as amputated tails, knife wounds and slits from the neck to the stomach or cut whiskers.
“It’s sickening, cat owners are left distraught, and people must understand that a pet is considered a family member,” said SNARL co-founder Boudicca Rising.
Ms Rising, 44, and her partner Tony Jenkins, 51, officially founded charity SNARL in 2014 after years of self-funding the rescue and rehabilitation of abused and ill cats, among other pets.
SNARL say they have come across a significant number of cases concerning cats in the past year in Addiscombe.
Penny Beeson, of Dalmally Road, was distraught to hear her cat Ukiyo, a four-year-old Ragdoll, was found decapitated and dumped with his stomach slit open on a neighbour’s doorstep.
The 54-year-old said: “We have owned him since he was a kitten. After ringing vets, posting leaflets through neighbour’s doors and searching for him in the park behind my house, I received a phone call on Saturday September 26.
“The lady had only just seen the leaflet and said she found him mutilated on her front door step on Wednesday morning September 23.”
KILLED: Ukiyo’s body was discovered by a neighbour
Ukiyo’s body was removed before SNARL or police could investigate but Ms Beeson said her beloved pet was microchipped and she needs to know who took his body away.
Another dead, eviscerated tabby cat was found and reported to SNARL by a passerby in Bywood Avenue, Woodside, with its leg missing. No owner has yet been traced.
Belinda Hunter, 45, who also lives in the area said her cat, a four-year-old, black short-hair who had been missing for more than a fortnight was found alive but ‘traumatised’ last week.
HOME SAFE: Mosh returned home ‘traumatised’
Ms Hunter said: “Mosh is absolutely traumatised and very skinny, he is very fussy about what he eats now, and I suspect he may have been held captive somewhere.
“It doesn’t help that the gates to Addiscombe Railway Park are not always locked regularly.”
Addiscombe Railway Park is an open space of 3.3 acres that runs from East India Way to Dalmally passage behind a row of back gardens.
The map below shows the range of reported attacks on pets:
SNARL said they will continue to campaign in the area and are working closely with vets and pet owners to find and return missing cats to owners and to support their rehabilitation.
A spokesperson from the RSPCA said: “Thankfully acts of deliberate violence against dead cats are rare and thorough research has shown that these kinds of injuries are caused by wildlife after death, due to the small teeth it leaves a very clean wound. This would not even be apparent to a vet without an in depth post mortem
“However, given the nature of the damage and the frequency of the incidents, these injuries are unlikely to have been caused by a wild animal.”
The RSPCA urged anyone with information on this to call us on 0300 1234 9999.
A spokesperson from the MET Police said: “The local police team are aware of concerns and are working with the RSPCA on the matter.”
