nbc29.com has reported that the Waynesboro police have received complaints from residents that their domestic cats are being mysteriously shaved over the underside of their body (belly and groin areas).
One of the cats is Tigerlily, owned by Rebekah Martin (see above). Remarkably her cat has been shaved twice in 2017.
She says that her cat’s character has changed. She no longer likes to be picked up.
Tigerlily is not the only cat who has been shaved more than once this year. The residents believe they know who is doing it but have no proof. So what might be the reason? Can we suggest a reason for this deviant behaviour?
My first thought is that this is a form of cat abuse. It is an assault on cats. It is a mild form of violence against cats. The critical point that I feel is significant is that although it is cat abuse it is on the face of it not serious enough to be described as a crime. I believe that the police would not wish to describe the undesired shaving of parts of a cat as a crime.
We have cat abuse but not a crime. The person who is doing it is making a statement I believe. He (or she) is making known that roaming cats are not welcome in the area (and that cats should be spayed and neutered – see Sarah’s comment). But the person is (a) not violent enough to harm the cats more than he has and (b) does not wish to expose himself to being charged with a crime. He is making a statement that he knows will be well publicised (as it is) without the possibility of ending up prosecuted in the criminal court.
I’d say that he is intelligent and dislikes cats or cats roaming. In order to shave cats like this I’d suggest that he has to sedate the cat. That would mean he has access to drugs and hypodermic needles.
I wonder if he is a vet tech living locally. And he may have an accomplice. The unusualness of this ‘crime’ made lead to discovering who the person is. I reckon the residents need CCTV in the area.
P.S. The images are linked thumbnails.
That’s a damn scary thing going on!
You mentioned that the cats must have been sedated in order to be shaved. Tigerlily doesn’t like being picked up now. That suggests that she was possibly held down (or up in the air by her scruff) while being sheared. Shame on the tormentor! Although I can’t help wondering if the culprit believes he/she is doing TNR?
Thanks for that. Yes, it could have been done forceably – just about.
Any injected sedation would have left a shaved patch on a foreleg. I think the person was looking for a spay scar.
It’s also possible that someone is checking for spay scars on female cats (abdominal spaying is the norm in the USA) making it a statement to owners that any unneutered free-roaming cat will get the snip. With males it’s easier to see if they are castrated although some, like my Sweep, have fatty deposits in the scrotum that require a quick manual check (hence Sweep’s nickname is Mr Fatty-Balls). I’ve had to do a bit of “guerilla snipping” on troublesome local tomcats whose owners wouldn’t get it done (booked in as a stray, snipped but not ear-tipped and it’s home by evening).
A very nice thought. I completely agree with you. It is as if the person is pointing to the area where there should be scars from the spaying operation.