A cat owner in Offaly has expressed her shock and sadness at the apparent killing of her "beautiful" pet cat in a Halloween incident.
Annette Regan from Birr in Co Offaly told the Offaly Express that the dead cat was brought to her by a neighbour but that she initially thought he had been hit by a car.
A trip to the vet soon shed new light on the incident with the nature of the injuries to the defenceless animal suggesting he was savagely killed.
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“My beautiful black cat Mario, who is 13 months of age, went out for his usual ramble around Scurragh [Housing Estate] and he never came back," Annette told the local paper.
She described the cat as friendly and suggested that perhaps his friendliness was ultimately his downfall.
Mario was found the day after Halloween and his body was brought to a local vet. The vet examined him and said a car wasn't responsible for his death.
"He said he had been deliberately killed by someone," Annette claimed.
The poor animal had all its legs broken and the vet even found a creepy puncture wound in his body.
Gardai have been contacted about the incident.
Annette is appealing to anyone who may have seen anything to contact the gardai. It's understood another cat was killed in the same area on Halloween night while a number of others are missing.
Annette offered people a €700 reward for information about Mario in a Facebook post but received no replies.
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