The SPCA is advising people to keep an eye on their cats as this is the season when wild animals prey on them.

(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

This is the time of year when small pets, such as cats, should be kept indoors to keep predators from hunting them down.

That’s the advice of Brian Kijowski, regional manager for cruelty investigations for the SPCA.

“There’s lots of wildlife that could become a predator for these smaller animals,” Kijowski told iNFOnews.ca today, June 23. “It’s spring. The weather’s getting warmer. The animals are coming out. There’s coyotes, there’s racoons, there’s eagles. There’s lots of wildlife that could become a predator for these smaller animals.”

There have been a number of Facebook posts recently reporting missing cats and one gruesome tale of a cat found severed in half.

"One of the owners found the top half of her cat's body on her street near her house (Coronation Ave) and the other bottom half was found by (a) gentleman jogging on the grass at Bankhead Elementary on Wilson Avenue backing onto Clement," someone posted on Kelowna/Okanagan Lost and Found Pets. "She said (there) was no blood and no bite marks on the cat. The gentleman that found the bottom half said it looked like it was cleanly cut. The police were called."

Many comments to the post suggest the deaths had to be human caused.

Kijowski knows of two mutilated cats that have been brought into the SPCA in Kelowna recently. Necropsy examinations will be done on them. He explained that necropsy exams are done by a specialized veterinarian examining the bodies to try to determine the cause of death.

One cat does have puncture wounds on it, he said, speculating that it could have been killed by a predator.

He does not know how long it will take to get results of the necropsy examination because it depends on how busy the lab is.

When incidents like this happen, an historic examination is done. Most deaths of cats are caused by predators. He does not know of any that have been human caused.

“This is the time when predators are out there,” he said. “It’s a good time to remind the public, if they have small animals, for safety they should be kept inside, or at least know where they are.”

He said even racoons can kill full grown cats.

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