A family from Hemel Hempstead are “devastated” after news broke their cat, called Smudge, was found mutilated.
The Bird family received a phone call from a vet at Medivet on Risedale Road, Hemel Hempstead, on Wednesday, May 29, to say they believe their cat was “murdered” by a person, not by another animal.
Curtis Bird, 21, spoke to HemelNews on how this has affected his family.
He said: “We got a call from the vet on Wednesday morning saying that he’d been ‘murdered’. They told us someone had slit his throat and cut his tail. He was found on the hill at the start of Newell Road or somewhere on Risedale Road.
“Everyone is devastated, part of the family has been taken away from us in such a vile way. I can only hope it happened quickly and he didn’t feel much pain.
“All we can do is be grateful for the happy 14 years we spent with him and hope that someone finds the sick person who done it and stops them from doing it to other animals.
“We would like to thank all the staff at Risedale Medivet for all their help and support throughout this time.”
South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) is helping a police investigation into what happened.
In a statement, the animal rescue charity said: “We confirm local social media reports that a mutilated cat was found in this area and taken into a vet on the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
“We are urgently trying to trace the kind person who did this as they may have information which is useful for the investigation. If this was you, please contact us urgently on 07961 030064 or 07957 830490.
“Likewise if anyone saw or heard anything odd on Monday night/Tuesday morning, please contact us.
“The incident has been confirmed by vets as human related and one of our team attended at the surgery last night.”
Hertfordshire Police have launched an investigation and are appealing for any information and witnesses to come forward.
They commented: “Police were called by a vet in Hemel Hempstead at 5.49pm on Tuesday, May 28, who was reporting that a deceased cat, which she believed had been mutilated, had been brought into the veterinary surgery in Risedale Road.
“Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Hertfordshire Constabulary online at herts.police.uk/Report, quoting crime reference 41/48304/19.
“Alternatively speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat, which can be launched here: herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.”
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