Cat found strangled in back garden






 
ANIMAL cruelty inspectors are appealing for information after
horrified homeowners found a dead cat which had been strangled and
dumped in their Coley garden.

The gruesome discovery was made by Chris Laker and Zoe Smith in Garnet
Street on Sunday but RSPCA officers believe the animal was cruelly
slaughtered before the weekend.

The couple first spotted the long-haired tabby tomcat lying in the
grass at around 11am but thought it was having a nap and left him
alone.

Ms Laker returned for a closer look two hours later, when the "cheeky"
tabby still had not moved, and made the horrifying discovery that
there was a makeshift noose tied around its neck.

RSPCA Inspector Graham Hammond said: "This animal was the victim of a
deliberate act of cruelty and it would have suffered a horrendous
death."

He said most animal cruelty cases in Reading are "acts of omission,"
involving owners who do not take their animals to the vet.

But he warned the perpetrator of this "violent and serious offence"
faces up to six months in jail a fine of up to £5,000 under the
Protection of Animals Act.

RSPCA spokeswoman Jo Barr is appealing for information to trace the
cat's owners and his killer.