A wave of disturbing and brutal attacks on street cats across Sliema, Gżira, Valletta, and Cospicua has sparked national outrage, with the Real Animal Rights Foundation (RARF) offering a €1,000 reward for information leading to the perpetrator.
Animal rights activist Romina Frendo raised the alarm over what appears to be a series of targeted acts of animal cruelty that have left several community cats dead or gravely injured.
The spree of violence includes cats being mutilated, slammed against walls and left to die in public areas, with fresh reports of killings emerging in recent days, Frendo said on a Facebook post, which included a graphic content warning of the injured cats.
The earliest known case dates back to 7 June, when the first cat body was discovered in Sliema, followed by the 9 June killing of a well-known and beloved community cat in Cuschieri Street, Gżira.
The cat, known to many as Maui, Prinky, or Fuzzy Pants, was reportedly "brutally massacred" between 6:30am and 7:30am, slammed against the floor, walls, and cars, and then mutilated, possibly while still alive, Frendo said.
Two days later, on 11 June at around 3am, another horrific incident was reported, where a cat named Pupa was grabbed in Our Saviour Street, Sliema, by a person who then ran into St Charles Street, slammed the cat to the floor, and mutilated her as she lay dying, Frendo said.
An attempted abduction of a cat was also reported on 12 June in Gżira, and Frendo said that according to an eyewitness, the attempt was carried out by men in an old silver or grey car.
Since the original post was published, Frendo said she received further reports of abuse and deaths, including three cat killings in Valletta, one at Evans Building, one near the fast ferry terminal in the area of Mina tal-Lvant, and another in front of the former Police Academy, again near Evans Building.
Another report was of one cat with a broken face but survived, found at Bieb il-Bombi. Frendo said that this cat showed mutilation injuries similar to those in the Sliema and Gżira cases.
A black cat was also found alive in Valletta as early as May and is believed to be a survivor of an earlier attack, she said. Frendo said there were reports of three more attacks in Triq Polverista, Bormla, and another possible attack in Ta' Xbiex.
The Real Animal Rights Foundation is offering a €1,000 reward for any information that could help identify the individual or group behind these acts.
Frendo also made a public appeal to review CCTV footage from Rudolph, Viani, Belvedere, and Cuschieri streets in Gżira, and from Our Saviour, St James, St Charles, Rudolph, and Alfons streets in Sliema, particularly between 3am and 4am on 9 and 11 June.
Any information may be passed on confidentially to the police.