Fears of Irish ‘Catnapper’ grow as cat found decapitated near family home

Fears of a "catnapper" operating in the north of the country are growing after a cat was found decapitated near its family home.

The cat, named Mylo, was discovered by her family yesterday morning in Portadown, Co Armagh. Newry pet shop Pet Connection have been tracking the disappearances of cats around the area. Over the past few months, 260 cats have gone missing from their homes. Pet Connection took to Facebook yesterday to share the news of Mylo's death. They wrote:

"Wee Mylo was found decapitated this morning, not far from her beloved family's home. "This was not a result of a car accident, and believed not to be an attack by another animal, but of a malicious killer who has severely impacted on a family's life for no reason. "Illegal, immoral and absolutely disgusting."

Although the incident occurred in Portadown, Pet Connection believe that the number of cats being reported missing lately means that this could "happen anywhere."

"Mylo's little body was found by her heartbroken family. She had only left the house a few hours before she was discovered, on a busy path, in broad daylight at 11am. "I believe this shows the level of evil we are dealing with. Whoever did this had no qualms about destroying a life, to the point that they did so where they could so easily have been caught."

They also took the opportunity to tell cat owners that if they need advice on keeping their cats indoors, they should contact the shop.

"In an ideal world our cats could use their legal right to roam, but it seems we may be surrounded by people who think they are above the law. "Beautiful little Mylo, we will not let you be forgotten."

Cat owners can report their cat missing here.