A woman whose cat was killed and mutilated, in a case linked to the Croydon Cat Killer, is urging people to take notice and keep their pets safe.

Haley, who lives in Addlestone, received a call from Snarl (South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty, a group working on the Cat Killer case) on October 24 telling her about the fate of her cat.

One-and-a-half-year-old Squiggles had been missing for 10 days, and had been found dead in a car park in Station Road that evening.

Her ears and tail had been cut off, she had been sliced down the middle and one of her back legs had been taken.

Hayley said: “I’m angry and obviously upset. I want to raise awareness that there is someone out there doing this. So many people don’t know about it.

“Some of the stupid things people have said, like it was a hawk or a fox, are unbelievable. This was a person.”

Snarl’s advice is to keep animals indoors, especially at night, and that cages do not necessarily protect them from a determined attacker.

There is a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the Croydon Cat Killer.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 and quote Operation Takahe.