The unfortunate animal was found in the ditch on the Tripkouw. Local resident Niels made the gruesome discovery on Friday afternoon. “I was looking for our own cat Max, who had been gone for three days. I was walking around and saw a cat lying in the water. I was shocked and thought it was ours.” Fortunately for Niels, Max arrived not much later.
The pet found was already dead and the skin had been stripped from the animal. “And its head lay beside it, and three of its four legs were floating in the ditch.” The photos on his phone leave little to the imagination and are not suitable for publication.
Photos don’t look nice
De Midwouder called in the animal ambulance and employees in turn alerted the police. “My colleagues have seized the animal, because it appears that the cat died as a result of a crime. A neighborhood investigation has also been carried out,” said a police spokesperson.
Debbie Warmenhoven of the Animal Ambulance cannot go into too much detail about the issue due to the ongoing police investigation. “I have seen photos and you can imagine that it does not look very pleasant. It is not without reason that we call the police. We do that if we suspect that there is abuse.”
Who owns the found cat?
The discovery causes much dismay. “It is a terrible report. We take this seriously,” the police told NH.
It is still unclear who owns the cat. Niels also has no idea. The police say they do not know whether the pet had a chip. “But I think you have to be very sick to do this,” says Niels.
Niels’ cat was shot at last summer. “Half a bullet came out of one of his legs. I thought that was bizarre.”
A cat hater in Midwoud?
Is there a cat hater in Midwoud? “There is at least someone with something like a gun around here. You notice that neighbors are getting scared. Ours are now getting a GPS tracker around their necks. These types of incidents are a reason for us not to get any more cats later. Because if you have cats, you don’t want to lose them.”
Animal police officers are fully engaged in the investigation, the spokesperson said. No one has been arrested yet.