Authorities in Putnam County, N.Y. are trying to figure out if a cat-killing cat there is connected to a series of feline beheadings here, including two in Oxford.
A calico cat named Blackfoot was found badly injured Feb. 7, according to a report in The Journal News.
An X‑ray revealed some type of projectile, perhaps a BB, was embedded in the animal’s spine.
Also, the cat’s spine had been fractured by blunt force, according to the newspaper.
Blackfoot died Feb. 11.
“I believe the person called her over, he shot her in the back, then kicked her,” Blackfoot’s owner, Robert Kitts, told NBC New York.
Watch the video above for NBC’s complete report.
The cat was discovered in Putnam Lake, in the same general area a severed cat’s head had been found in August, The Journal News reported.
Putnam Lake is a hamlet of Patterson, N.Y.
NBC New York reported Thursday that the Putnam County SPCA is investigating whether the New York incidents are connected to similar cat cases in Connecticut.
Two severed cat heads were discovered in Oxford last year.
The Valley Indy first reported in July that a cat’s head had been methodically propped up on Rollings Hill Drive.
Another cat head had been discovered some seven-to-eight months earlier on Moose Hill Road, Oxford Animal Control Officer Sandy Merry told the Valley Indy at the time.
In both Oxford cases and the Putnam Lake case, the cat’s head had been “staged” on the road.
“Someone is clean-cutting off cats’ heads and putting them in the street,” Merry had said.
A veterinary technician interviewed by the Valley Indy in July said the cat’s head on Rollings Hill Road was “neatly severed,” casting doubt on whether another animal had caused the damage.
The veterinary technician wouldn’t give her name during the interview because she lived in Oxford and was too spooked by what happened.
“Obviously, there is some psychopath out here,” she said at the time.
Putnam Lake, N.Y. is about 18 miles from Oxford.
A Google map showing the locations where severed cat heads were discovered is posted below. Use the arrow keys to move around and zoom in or out. Click the icons for info on each incident.
View Serial Cat Killer? in a larger map
A cat’s head was discovered at the intersection of Garfield Drive and Quogue Road in Putnam Lake, N.Y. on Aug. 20.
A subsequent examination of the head indicated the cat had been beaten to death, as severe bruising was found under the animal’s scalp.
“The head was then decapitated by a sharp edged instrument by a person or persons knowledgeable of where and how to do so,” according to information posted on Pet-Abuse.com and referenced by the Putnam County SPCA.
A severed cat’s head was also discovered in Fairfield last July.
In the Fairfield incident, a severed cat’s head was found on an artificial turf putting green behind a house, the Fairfield-Sun reported.
Anyone with information should call the Putnam County SPCA at 845 – 520-6915.
