Pet owners fear series of cat disappearances may be linked to shootings
There are growing fears the disappearance of cats from a village may have something to do with a recent rash of suspected shootings.
Over the past seven months, six cats have gone missing from a small neighbourhood in Milton-under-Wychwood in West Oxfordshire.
Those that returned exhibited severe injuries – one to its hip, another to its brain –and a newfound fear of humans.
Earlier in April, six cats were injured and one killed in what has been described as ‘air weapon’ attacks in the neighbouring village of Carterton.
Shaznay Potter, the owner of Boyce, the fifth cat to disappear from Milton-under-Wychwood, told ITV News: ‘My worst fear is that somebody has taken them, captured them and taken them for whatever reason that they…
‘It’s horrible to think about, isn’t it?’
Ms Potter added the family has ‘really struggled’ because Boyce ‘was my only boy cat’.
She said: ‘He was so affectionate. He was such an unusual cat as well. He was half Siamese. He was huge. He had really big eyes and it was just, it was just so horrible.’
Two days after Ms Potter first noticed Boyce had gone missing, her next door neighbour’s cat, Odin, also disappeared.
Emily Hoare, the pet’s owner, said: ‘It was completely out of Odin’s character to not come home. He was always milling about round here, playing, and he was just quite an affectionate cat really.
‘Someone thought they’d seen him in the village so we went to see but couldn’t find him.’
She added: ‘We’ve been shouting, calling, you know. We just can’t find them anywhere.’
William Oldham, who works as a vet at Woodstock Medivat, said it’s not usual for cats to wander, especially during the summer months.
He explained: ‘However, the number of cats in this report does worry us that several are going missing in a confined area.’
Thames Valley Police confirmed in a statement they are aware of the spate of disappearances.
The force said: ‘Some cats have eventually returned, however they have returned injured and fearful of human contact.
‘If you have any further information, please call 101 and quote crime reference 43230306445.’
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