News / Animals
Mystery surrounds trapped Clifton cats
A Clifton man who found posters pinned around his street of his cat trapped in a cage after it went missing has said he is distressed by what has happened.
Pictures appeared on and around York Place showing the two-year-old cat, Murray, with the words: “If this is your cat please do the right thing and have him neutered.”
Letters were then delivered warning that cats which stray into people’s gardens could be killed.
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The cat’s owner, Antonio, who did not want to give his surname, responded with another set of posters asking for the person who trapped his cat to come forward to settle the matter civilly.
Antonio, who is in his early 30s, told Bristol247: “Murray is now safe, but obviously I am still pretty distressed. When he is out of the house now, all I can think is whether he’s been trapped again.”
Antonio said Murray was a rescue cat from the RSPCA and was already neutered.
He added that he has received a lot of support from the community since he publicised what happened.
“Regardless of whether people like cats or not, everybody is appalled,” he said.
He said he told the police first who referred him to the RSPCA. An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We have received a call from a cat-owner in Clifton who is concerned about the welfare of their cat after seeing anonymous posters put up locally of their cat caught in a trap on somebody else’s property.
“The same owner has also called to explain that letters are now being put through doors in the area threatening to kill any cats that go into the letter writer’s garden and it is believed these letters may be coming from the same person.
“The RSPCA and the police take threats aimed at animals very seriously.
“We would strongly urge the person making these threats to consider the fact that they may be committing an offence and if they do cause unnecessary suffering to someone’s pet they can face a fine of up to £20,000 or up to six months in prison.”