Dead cat draws neighbors' suspicion

Albuquerque animal control officers say a coyote, not a human being, is to blame for a cat mutilation that shocked pet owners in several Downtown neighborhoods.

Half a cat--neatly sliced--no blood--no guts--the bottom half of the cat missing. Neighbors feared some kind of animal abuse.

Barbara Grothus found the cat on the lawn.

"The rib cage was completely bare inside--like a turkey--like you would have your Thanksgiving turkey," she said.

Grothus said there wasn't much of the cat left.

"It was completely - inside there was not an organ - it was clean to the bone. The bones they were completely intact - and the ribcage and the front legs and the head of the cat," she said.

The country club and nearby Downtown neighborhoods are heavily populated with cats. As word of Grothus' discovery spread, pet owners began suspect a Satanist might be responsible for the cat's precise dismemberment.

"I read the e-mail from our neighborhood association about the cat being gutted and dismembered - and it wasn't like an animal killing or anything. It was done by somebody who was very sick," resident Linda Falvey said.

City animal control officers say a coyote probably killed the cat--there are several lurking in the area. They say coyotes are known to attack pets near the river--with the same precision as the cat was killed.

City ordinance forbids cats wandering out of the owner's yard. Although it is impossible enforce, the animal welfare department advises owners to keep cats in the house.

www.KOB.com - Dead cat draws neighbors' suspicion