A woman has described her horror and heartbreak when she discovered her missing cat’s body left on the pavement with his head cut off.
Police are launching an investigation into the crime - which has shocked the community in Bristol.
The cat, a ten-month-old Maine Coon kitten called Ru, went missing overnight from his home in the St Anne’s Park area of Bristol last night (November 7), and didn’t return on Friday morning.
Her owner Katie Ross appealed on local social media in her neighbourhood and went out searching - but was soon told the headless body of a cat was lying on the pavement near her home in the Wyatt’s View area.
She rushed round and discovered the horrific scene.
“Instantly I went out to see and as I walked up I knew it was him, even with the head gone, it was nowhere to be seen,” said a distraught Katie.
“I scooped him up and waited for my partner to get home. We took him to the vets, praying it was an animal attack, as it is more digestible than thinking a human could do something so vile,” she explained.
She said the vet confirmed the worst - that Ru had been killed and decapitated with a sharp instrument or blade, and had also had an area of fur on his tail shaved off.
Ru lived with his brother Morty - who is now being kept in. “He’s lost without him,” said Katie.
Police began an investigation into what happened, and have been conducting door-to-door inquiries.
The attack must have happened at some point after 3pm on Thursday, November 7, when Ru first went out, although probably after 7pm when a search of the area found no sign of him, Katie said.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said: “We’re investigating after the mutilated body of a cat was found in the St Anne’s Park area earlier today, Friday, November 8.
“The incident is being treated as a criminal offence and our inquiries are continuing,” he added.
- If anyone has any information about what happened to Ru, in St Anne's Park overnight on Thursday November 7, they should call the police on 101 and quote reference number: 0165 of today's date, 8/11/19.
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