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Serial cat killer strikes again as seventh cat found mutilated in Washington

Posted at 9:47 AM, Aug 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-07 09:47:05-04

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Residents in Thurston County, Washington say they are keeping watch and staying on the lookout to catch whoever is responsible for brutally murdering at least seven pet cats.

The county animal control service says seven dead animals so far are likely connected and is warning pet owners to keep their cats indoors overnight, according to KCPQ.

The neighbors near the latest discovery in Olympia’s west side told KCPQ they are keeping watch at various times of the day, staying on the lookout for suspicious people.

“He’s camera shy and people shy,” said neighbor Gene Holt

Holt says his elderly cat, Buffy, rarely spends time alone outside especially since the county animal control believes more than half a dozen mutilation cases are connected.

“Kind of like a serial killer, only a serial cat killer,” said Holt. “You don’t’ know where he’s going to strike next.”

“He was about 20 years old, he was deaf, he’d been in the neighborhood a very long time,” said neighbor Kathy Harrigan who once cared for a feral feline.

Harrigan cared for the neighborhood cat for about 2 years and her family built a heated home for the animal. Sometime overnight Sunday the cat everyone called Harley was killed and later found dead in the yard across the street.

“Laid his body out for everyone to see,” said Harrigan. “It’s really disturbing.”

That incident marks the seventh cat found mutilated so far. According to investigators, they don’t yet have a motive or even a suspect description.

“I make it my mission to find out who this person is,” said Thurston County Animal Services Office Erika Johnson.

Johnson has been going door to door notifying pet owners about the danger and warning others to keep their cats indoors at night.

“Just the manners that these animals died was extremely horrific,” said Johnson.

Until investigators make an arrest, pet owners in Thurston County worry their animal could be next.

“They’re sickos,” said Holt. “They got to be sick in the head.”