Eight cats dead in duvet covers outside vets (From Southend Standard)

Eight cats dead in duvet covers outside vets

6:00pm Thursday 14th June 2012 in Echo News

EIGHT cats died when they were dumped in Thorpe Bay.

RSPCA chiefs are now hunting for a cat killer who bagged up 19 cats in two duvet covers and left them outside a veterinary surgery.

The bedraggled animals – some kittens of just a few months old – were discovered by staff arriving for work.

Seven of the cats were already dead and another had to be put down a short while later.

RSPCA inspector Matt Gough stormed: “It is one of the more horrifying cases I have seen. I have never known 19 cats be dumped at once like this.

“They all had a terrifying ordeal, and seven of the cats appear to have suffered a long and agonising death.

“It is difficult to know whether the cats died before being put into the covers or after. The awful stormy weather cannot have helped.

“Any information anyone might have which could help us trace the perpetrators of this heartless act would be very gratefully received.”

The cats were found outside MediVet, in Lifstan Way, in the early hours of Friday.

Most of the surviving pets are doing well.

They range from five months to two years old and are a mixture of colours including ginger, tabby, black, and tortoiseshell.

Anyone interested in offering a cat a home can contact the RSPCA Essex south branch on 07749 175023.

Anyone with information on who the dumped the cats may call the RSPCA in confidence on 0300 123 4999.