At least two cats were found sliced in half in less than a month in Broward, BSO says
At least two cats have been found chopped in half in Broward County just a few weeks apart, according to authorities.
Both cats were discovered with “clean cuts” in Weston near Alligator Alley, police reports show. The first was spotted in an open field in May; the second less than four miles away in a neighbor’s backyard earlier this month.
It’s unclear who or what split the cats in half and no arrests have been made, said Gerdy St. Louis, a spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are urging to the community to come forward if they have information regarding these incidents,” she said Tuesday.
Rumors of additional dead cats found in the area have not been confirmed by police, she said. The news was first reported by WPLG Local 10 News.
A city of Weston employee was dispatched May 11 to remove a dead cat from an open field at Savanna Trail and Sunset Way in the nearby Savanna Community. Upon arrival, he spotted the head and front legs of a cat — covered in maggots. The employee described the remains to police as being “clean cut,” but that it was also possible the cat had been killed by another animal.
The collar of Cricri, a gray tabby female cat, was also found a few feet away from where the dead cat was located, its owners Reinaldo Rivas-Rodriguez and Lizbette Montbrun-Cabrera told investigators. However, authorities could not confirm if it was the same cat.
Savanna Community’s head of security Andrew Dean told cops that two cats are missing but he isn’t aware of any incident involving foul play.
At 9 a.m. June 2, a gray and white female cat was found by its owners “chopped” with part of its back and legs missing in a neighbor’s backyard in the San Sebastian community, also in Weston. Lourdes Edelen, the owner of Misu, told the Miami Herald that she noticed something odd about her deceased cat.
“I didn’t see any blood or teeth marks,” she said.
Edelen told investigators that it was common for Misu to freely come in and out of the house. She also told them that she last saw Misu the night before and that she cremated the cat on the same day but not before taking photos, which she showed to investigators.
“The cat appeared to be cut clean through the middle,” the officer wrote on the police report. “The cut is not consistent with that of animal bites/attacks and appeared to be intentional.”
While canvasing the area, and with the permission of the neighbor, the officer found “three pieces of what appeared to be animal intestines” on the grass between Edelen’s residence and their neighbor’s.
Edelen told the Herald that Misu was special to her and that the cat had a “unique personality.” When asked if she plans to adopt another cat, she said not at this time.
“She can’t be replaced,” she said.
This is not the first time that cats have been killed in horrifying circumstances in South Florida.
In 2010, prosecutors in Miami-Dade County dropped the case against a teen who had been accused of slaying 19 cats across the upscale cities of Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay after scientific experts determined that an animal was to blame for a string of feline mutilations.
To report animal cruelty in Broward County, call the Animal Cruelty Hotline at 311. If it is after 5 p.m., weekends or holidays, call Animal Care at 954-359-1313, press option 2 and leave a message.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 6:39 PM.
