Florida Highway Patrol investigating cats found dead on Howard Frankland Bridge

The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating the case of cats being found dead (and alive and injured) on the Howard Frankland Bridge going into Tampa. There are many theories floating around the internet as to how the cats got onto the bridge. My big question would be WHY the cats were on the bridge. This is what’s happening

At least five cats have been spotted on the Howard Frankland Bridge over the past two weeks. It’s the central bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida and from the photo is heavily traveled.

In an interview with ABCAction News, Mary Beth Singh, who takes the bridge to work several times a week, says she saw a dead cat on the bridge earlier this month. She also stating seeing a cat who looked “injured and pregnant.” Unfortunately, the situation was too dangerous for her to get out of her vehicle and help the poor cat.

Mary Beth contacted the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), but that particular cat wasn’t found. She, as well as others, have spotted more cats on the bridge. What’s strange is the cats are on the left hand side of the northbound lanes before the hump, leading people to believe they were tossed out of a moving vehicle. Chris Slattery is another driver who has spotted the dead cats. He recently told the 10NEWS of the spot, which is about three miles from land.

There are several disturbing issues here. Not just that the cats are dead, but why would a cat be that far from land unless someone had taken it to a spot and thrown it from a vehicle. Cats tend to dislike bridges. Aside from the one cat believed alive but never found, the others were all dead. Were they dead when thrown or did the impact of hitting the concrete kill the cat? Are these cats coming from only one person, or are several individuals involved?

This case makes me want to snatch up one of the dead cats and have a necropsy done to determine the cause of death. Were the cats beaten and killed and simply dumped there? Why have no witnesses come forward? The traffic must be heavy enough for someone to have seen a cat being thrown. Will the person or persons doing this read news media reports about his act and stop, or will the number increase because he likes the publicity.

It’s almost as though someone wants to terrorize people who travel the bridge. Word has it there’s enough room to pull over on the right hand side of the bridge, so why not just throw the cats over the bridge into the water and be done with it. No cat, no FHP investigation. Of course, whoever is doing this may have already considered and used that method to get rid of a cat. Perhaps the cats found dead on the bridge are those who failed to clear the bridge and go into the water.

Do you all agree this is a very disturbing case? Readers, what is your take on this situation, especially those of you who live in the Tampa area? Anyone with information about this case, please contact the Florida Highway Patrol at 813/558-1800.

Elisa