Pet owners horrified as dozens of cats found shaven with clippers across UK
KENT, UK: A bizarre incident has caused concern among cat owners in the UK after dozens of cats were found shaved with hair clippers. More than 50 cats were found stressed throughout a region that stretches from London, then 100 km east to Dover, and finally up to Ramsgate.
The series of peculiar attacks has taken place from early December 2022 to March 2023, causing mounting unease among the local community. In response, the animal welfare group Animals Lost and Found has been documenting each occurrence on a map in Kent, as per Yahoo News. On March 14, one woman claimed her cat was being shaved every time he went outside and that he was growing more frightened of people, as reported by Kent Online.
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'We need to warn people about this'
Founder Natasha McPhee told Yahoo News that she had postponed making the incidents public out of concern that "copycats" might imitate the behavior that led to the assaults. She felt she had no choice but to take action because the people involved were not showing any indications of stopping. "Some people do these things for kicks, some people do it because they get self-gratification out of it by scaring people or scaring the animals," she said. "It was getting to a point where I thought... we need to warn people about this."
Ms McPhee pointed out some places that are shaving hotspots on Facebook page in February. “There are roads where two or three attacks have happened to cats,” she wrote. Animals Lost and Found alerted cat owners to keep their pets indoors. They also advised the owners to install a CCTV camera to find those who are behind the attacks.
'Keep your pets indoors'
After learning about the incidents, the RSPCA has asked cat owners to keep their pets home at night and to report any incidents to either them or the police. Chief Inspector Patrick Hamby said: "We may not be able to do something right away as it's very difficult if you have no leads to go on, but it lets us know what is going on and the areas it is happening in, so we can concentrate more in those areas."
"If a cat has been shaved, it would have had to have been held down by someone they don't know, which would put a lot of stress on the cat," he added. "Your cat may show signs of not wanting to go out anymore, or wanting to go out much less."
The UK has seen cat-shaving events before, terrifying pet owners. In 2016, the RSPCA appealed for help after 12 cats in the Cotswolds were attacked, some as many as four times apiece. Other cats were reportedly shaved in Gloucestershire, Minchinhampton, and Brimscombe two years later, as per Evening Standard.