Cat killer in Cape Coral

By Liza Fernandez

CREATED Oct. 15, 2012 - UPDATED: Oct. 15, 2012

  • Print

  • A cat killer in Cape Coral? That's what one family believes after their cat turned up mutilated, and they want to make sure other pet owners hear this warnin Video by fox4now.com

    video

LEE COUNTY, Fla. - A cat killer in Cape Coral?

That's what one family believes after their cat turned up mutilated, and they want to make sure other pet owners hear this warning.

"Apparently, he got out Sunday night. We didn't realize it," Brandi Nelson tells us.

After a busy start to the week, she and her daughter started to get really concerned.
 
"Tuesday night I realized he was gone, so I immediately we went looking for him," says Brandi.

The family scoured the neighborhood, near Santa Barbara Boulevard and Nicholas Parkway, stopping any neighbors they saw.

"They had told me, we think he was killed and they said they had a picture. So I asked to see it, and I instantly knew that it was him," adds Brandi.

The picture is graphic and shows the lower half of her cat, Bootz' body with a clear cut across his stomach.

"Horrifying, absolutely horrifying, " says Brandi.

"Traumatizing. I just cried and screamed, " says her daughter Lindsey.

The family just can't understand how someone could do this.

"He was a loving cat. He was friendly. This was intentional. It was malicious. Somebody did it just to be evil, and that just absolutely terrifies me," says the concerned mother. 

Fox 4 took the picture and the family's concerns to Lee County Domestic Animal Services.

"It's a pretty horrific picture definitely. And by looking at the picture, you can't tell how it happened but definitely, it's something we would want to investigate," the Animal Services Spokesperson, Ria Brown, tells us. 

But that can't happen without a witness.

"I need a witness. If somebody knows who did it, let me know," adds Brandi.

In the meantime, the family is not letting their pets out of their sight, and they say you should do the same.

Call Lee County Domestic Animal Services if you know anything about Bootz.

The family believes he was killed sometime between last Sunday night and Tuesday morning.

If a suspect is identified, he or she would be investigated for felony animal cruelty, involving a police investigation.