A SERIAL cat shaver has begun traumatising felines in the Tetbury area.
Reports have been coming in for the past month of a person or people shaving strips of fur off cats in Minchinhampton, with some of the pets targeted several times.Now the cruel culprit seems to have come to the Tetbury area, with Bernice Hodges’ cat Easter falling prey.
The 40-year-old, from Beverston, was on Facebook when she saw that one of her friends was complaining about her cat being shaved.
“I thought ‘that’s so stupid’, then my cat jumped onto me for a stroke and I saw he had been shaved,” Bernice said.
The four-year-old moggie had been shaved on his foreleg and belly, but was otherwise apparently unharmed.
“The only thing is that when I got home from work there was a white van parked very strangely.
“It could be innocent but in a very small village I do take a second glance. It does make you worry a bit that something could have happened.
“Someone could be taking blood for DNA or something – there’s so much research going on with cats at the moment. It definitely makes you more aware of what’s going on.”
Bernice has been in touch with Stroud and Cotswold district councils which she said had taken the cat shaving issue “very seriously”.
Similar cruelty to cats in France Lynch and Kingsway has also been reported to Stroud District Council’s animal welfare service.
A spokesman for the service told the Standard: “Whilst this isn’t in itself harmful to the cat, it is of concern and we would urge any other cat owners in that area to be vigilant.”
Police say they are “investigating a number of incidents relating to animal cruelty in the area”.
They said the charge of animal cruelty is considered when a cat is injured or distressed It can also be classed as criminal damage.
In a statement, the RSPCA said: “Shaving a cat in this way can cause huge distress in the animal and the owner.
“We’d appeal to anyone who may have information about who is responsible for this to contact the RSPCA.”
If your cat has been shaved or you are worried about what is going on, please contact Jack Pitts on 01285 627 321, or email jpi@wiltsglosstandard.co.uk.
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