DELTONA, Fla. (WFLA) — An investigation by animal control is underway after residents in a Florida neighborhood found three cats were mutilated near their homes, according to NBC affiliate WESH.
On Saturday morning, one Deltona resident recalled finding two dead cats near her home, before she discovered a third just a few feet away.
"He was down the road, and he was slit open, and they're all black cats," she told WESH. "It looked like they had been poisoned and then mutilated."
Another neighbor described the area as a cat-loving community, saying residents are known the feed the strays.
"The wounds to the cat, you can tell, were not by another animal," the second resident told WESH. "These were done by someone with force – it was absolutely gruesome."
According to WESH, neighbors suggested that this incident was intended as a message, being deliberately left in specific spots.
"I am fully aware that there are people in the neighborhood that do not care for the cats and I feel like where these cats were placed was very strategic," the neighbor added. "They were placed by peoples' homes who feed the cats."
The community reportedly started a neighborhood watch group and is asking residents to review their home security cameras.