News: Cat killer on the loose?

Published in the August 28 2010 issue of The Edmonton Sun. News


Cat killer on the loose?

Cat owners are being warned to keep a closer eye on their pets after three more cases of dismembered felines recently popped up in the city.

The Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) is issuing the critical warning after police alerted them that three cats were found dead and partially mutilated between Aug. 19 and 27 on the southside.

“It is so important for people to be watching their cats,” said Shawna Randolph with the Edmonton Humane Society.

“No cat is safe unless they are under the careful eye of their owners.”

The three cases bring the total recent number of cat killings city police are investigating to eight since the end of May.

“People are thinking ‘my cat is fine,’ but cats cannot safely fend for themselves,” Randolph said.

She said the number of dead and mutilated cats being investigated by city police is a huge concern.

“It is definitely alarming to us.”

However, Dean Parthenis, communications supervisor for the EPS, said some investigation results coming back from the cases dont appear to be linked to a human killer.

“We havent seen anything so far in these cases in the southwest that would indicate something other than an animal attack just yet,” Parthenis said.

But he adds a cat killer has not been completely ruled out.

“There are still some cases which have not yet been resolved,” he said. “(But) we would hate for people to jump to conclusions.”

A particularly gruesome find was made in July when half of a cat was found in southwest Edmonton. Two weeks later the lower half of the cat was found nearby, followed by a series of other maimed cats in the area.

While some cats injuries were consistent with being hit by a car, in other cases vets were unnable to say what caused the wounds.

Whether it is animal killings or humans harming the cats, Randolph said owners should still keep cats indoors.

Police are currently working on solving the rest of the cat killing cases to see whether the felines were intentionally killed.

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