Maddy Capostinsky Beka runs a rescue operation, Maddy's Paws and Claws Rescue.
Image Credit: Submitted by Maddy Capostinsky Beka
April 03, 2020 - 6:30 AM
A woman walking her dogs in her rural neighbourhood in Clearwater came upon a grisly discovery last week — three dead cats dumped in the same place.
She returned to her home nearby to secure her dogs and called Maddy Capostinsky Beka, owner of Maddy’s Paws and Claws Rescue. By the time the two women returned to the spot, another dead cat had been dumped with the others.
That cat was soon identified by its owners, who had last seen it at home that morning but the discovery has led Beka and the community to conclude there may be a cat killer in the neighbourhood.
Beka said a vet concurred that it appeared all the cats were strangled.
"Without doing further testing, the most probable cause was asphyxiation,” Beka said.
One of the cats was dead for 21-28 days, two others had been there for 21 days or less, and the fourth cat had gone missing only a few hours before it was discovered.
Through her rescue organisation, Beka traps stray cats and kittens in the area to spay or neuter them, and either releases them or adopts them out to families.
"There are quite a few different feral colonies around the Clearwater area,” particularly in a part of town known as The Flats, Beka says. "The feral colonies around here are watched and taken care of, it’s like a little wild family that people take care of… So it’s really really heartbreaking when something like this happens.”
The first three cats found have not been identified by owners, so it’s possible they were strays or feral. None of them had tags, were not fixed, and one of the females was pregnant.
The fourth cat was last seen at its home six kilometers from the site, a common dumping ground.
“People think it’s kind of a dumping area for, say, a deer carcass, expired meat,” she says. "They think it’s far enough out of town that it’s a place to dump things that won’t be found.”
Residents who live in the area have reported seeing strange vehicles near the site, she says. She has reached out to the SPCA twice, but has not received a reply.
“It’s really upsetting for the town, the community,” she says. “Everybody is supportive of what I do with the cat rescues, (so) it definitely hurts a lot of people.”
Beka said a resident who lives near the dump site is keeping an eye on the area, watching for suspicious activity. She urges anyone in the community with information to contact her, the B.C. SPCA Cruelty Hotline 1-855-622-7722, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Calls to the B.C. SPCA were not returned before publication.
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