© Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Some 13 animals have been found dead in Washington in recent times, with the last feline victim found on Thursday in Thurston County, near Olympia in the northwest of the state.
All of the cats have been found in public places, with the latest apparently surgically slit and splayed. In some cases, the cats' spines have been removed and in others, the organs have been laid out beside the body, according to The New York Times.
"Kind of like an arsonist goes back to the scene of fire. They want people to find these animals," Thurston County Animal Services Officer Erika Johnson told the newspaper. "It's for shock value. It's like a trophy."
Authorities believe the macabre acts have been done by the same person. There are few clues in the chase for the cat killer other than a surgical glove that was found at one of the scenes, and DNA that was found under the claws of one of the cats.
The incidents have taken place over the last six months and now the animal shelter is offering a $36,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the individual responsible. Thurston police have also set up a 10-person task force to investigate the killings. If found, the perpetrator faces up to two years in prison for each cat killed.
The case is similar to that of the so-called Croydon Cat Killer in south London. Around 400 cats have been found killed, dismembered and decapitated across the English capital since 2014. Metropolitan Police Detective Andy Collin told the BBC that he has no doubt the killer exists and is not just a series of copycats.
"Cats are targeted because they are associated with the feminine. The killer can't deal with a woman or women who are troubling him," Collin said.
If Thurston Police can put ten officers on a cereal cat killer, maybe, just maybe they're a bit overstaffed?