A notorious cat killer that's mutilated "hundreds" of families' beloved felines is still on the loose, claims the charity that worked on a major three-year investigation.
The UK Cat Killer - who was previously known as the Croydon Cat Killer, until cases started appearing across the country - drew international attention after a spate of acute mutilations with similar characteristics.
Cats would be found decapitated with their tails cut off. Both cuts would be incredibly clean, and there would be no blood present. Some time later - even a few days later - the head or tail would reappear in the exact same location to where the body was found. Hundreds of cases were reported in just three years, from 2015.
The Metropolitan Police investigated the killings - an investigation named Operation Takahe - but eventually chose to close the case in September 2018, after three years.
It claimed the killings were "likely" caused by blunt force trauma - such as car accidents - and then wildlife scavenging.
However, the families of "victims" remain adamant that their cats were killed by a human hand - these are their stories.
Jekyll
Jekyll turned up on the doorstep of his new owner in 2015. He was looking for shelter from the noise of fireworks on Bonfire Night.
His owner, who lived in South Norwood, London, said he was initially a timid stray with signs of being mistreated.
After a year of building trust, Jekyll let his owner pick him up and cuddle him out in the garden.
She said: " I felt so rewarded. He had blossomed into the sweetest, most loving cat."
Black and white Jekyll would come to learn the sound of his owner's car arriving home, and would run outside to greet her. He'd lay across her feet in the morning, and would walk across her laptop while she was doing her daily admin.
"He was my sole companion. We totally adored each other. I promised him this would be his ‘forever home’," she said.
But, one day in 2020, Jekyll didn't turn up for his breakfast. He was missing for the entire day, without explanation.
The next morning, his owner looked out of the bedroom window.
"There, in the middle of my back garden lawn, was something black and white, not moving. I felt sick with dread as I hurried downstairs and into the garden."
That's when her nightmare started, she said - just as the "despicable, evil perpetrator" had intended.
"What I saw was the body of a black and white cat with no head or neck and just a small stump left where his tail had been cut off."
She immediately covered the body with a blanket, and contacted charity South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberation (SNARL). Investigator Tony Jenkins arrived, scanned the body's chip, and confirmed it was Jekyll.
The owner said: "I looked at, and kept thinking was how Jekyll would have hated having his fur soaking wet and dirty like this – he was always fastidious about grooming and keeping his fur beautiful."
She said the police wouldn't issue a crime number unless there was evidence the cat was killed by a human hand, so she asked a vet to carry out a post-mortem on Jekyll.
"His conclusion is that a human killed my Jekyll with a severe blunt force, then mutilated him with a sharp-bladed instrument," she said.
The vet also said a small amount of fox predation was evident on the remains.
"Surely fox’s DNA is inevitable, when the bodies are returned and left in the open overnight. The identical sharp-bladed incisions/knifework on the decapitated tail voided cats [and incidentally on a large number of fox killings too] was, incredibly, deemed irrelevant."
Jekyll's owner urged everyone to keep their cats in at nighttime - and to warn all other cat owners, too.
She said: "With so much CCTV surely this monster’s days must be numbered? We must all be vigilant."
Raven
Raven and his brother had been part of their family ever since they were kittens.
They lived in Edgware, north London, and the two brothers grew up together.
But, in May 2020, Raven was found by his owner decapitated, and without a tail.
His owner said: "We found our poor cat Raven dead early afternoon on Sunday 24th May in an alleyway nearby to our address.
"He had failed to come home Saturday afternoon and evening as he always would stay in overnight."
The owners immediately phoned the police, due to the unusual state of the body.
"We found our beautiful cat cleanly decapitated and with his tail cut off with no blood near the scene or on the body and no other damage or apparent injuries to any other parts of his body or legs," said one of the owners.
"We were immediately suspicious and horrified and knew something clearly wasn’t right."
They immediately reported it to the police, and appealed for CCTV or witnesses.
Raven was taken to a vet the next day, who confirmed the death was "suspicious", he added.
The owners wanted to make other people aware that an "individual" or "individuals" could've killed Raven.
He added: "Our other cat is no longer allowed outside at all and is visibly and clearly missing his friend/brother and is clearly puzzled as to why his dinner no longer gets stolen."
