Police investigating mutilated cats found in St. Albert

It appears someone is killing cats in St. Albert.

Kaleigh Barteski was walking her dog through Sable Park last Monday, on her way to a nearby off-leash park, when she stumbled across the body of a mutilated cat.

Or rather, half a body, under a tree.

The cat had a collar, so she knew it was someone's pet.

"I was very upset by the time I got to the off-leash park, where I was meeting a whole bunch of people," she said.

Barteski called the RCMP and discovered it was the second recent case police have dealt with.

Two officers came out quickly and she led them back to the place where she had found the dead cat, in the park just off Salisbury Avenue.

She said police told her another cat had been found mutilated in "very similar" circumstances.

"They agreed with me that this wasn't something that was done by a coyote, or another dog," she said.

"I'm an animal lover. I just couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the owner, to find out that you'd lost your family member it such a terrible, terrible way."

She soon posted information about the cat on Facebook, to warn other pet owners.

"People need to know this kind of stuff, in order to protect their pets."

She said police found a microchip on the dead cat and contacted the owner.

The owner later responded to Barteski's Facebook post, and the two had a brief conversation.

RCMP say another mutilated cat was found two days earlier, just a few blocks away in a field near Elmer S. Gish school in the Akinsdale neighbourhood.

Both incidents are under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call police.

Edmonton's Humane Society says it is "gravely concerned" by the news of the mutilations.

"How we treat animals is a reflection of our culture, community and humanity," CEO Miranda Jordan-Smith wrote in a release.

The society warns pet owners to make sure their pets are supervised while outdoors and advise against letting cats roam free.