A mystery cat shaver is believed to be at large after two pets were targeted. The incidents have left owners distraught and disgusted.
Two cats have had parts of their coats removed by the cruel cat shaver in Derby. Police and the RSPCA have been informed.
Amy Liddle, 46, was horrified to see the tail of her cat Eris shaven down to the skin, DerbyshireLive reports. She said: "She came down one morning, had breakfast and went out as usual.
"When she came back in the afternoon, the middle section of her tail was just gone. It'd been shaved right down to the skin.
"It was completely bald. White, literally. There were no cuts or anything.
"It had been shaved, there's no other explanation for it. It was so bizarre."
Amy, a former nursery nurse, says that she could tell something was wrong when Eris was oddly reluctant to approach her owner later on that day as if she had experienced some kind of trauma. Her owner described how she felt when she first saw the cat when she returned.
She said: "Honestly, I was disgusted. Whoever it is, shame on them. Who in their right mind would do something like that to something that can't defend itself? Why? What is the purpose? Our animals are part of the family. It's like a child coming home with a razor having been run over their head. I was angry. I hope whoever it is feels some sort of guilt or remorse for it."
Eris' hair has started to grow back now, but it's patchy, wiry and grey in some places, claims Amy. None of Amy's six other cats have been targeted.
But Eris wasn't the only cat affected. Another resident who also lives in the Shelton Lock area of Derby, Bethany Biddle, reported that her cat Tigg had suffered a similar fate in recent weeks.
She said: "I went outside as I would on any usual day and Tigg was crying. He never normally used to cry. I wondered what the matter was. I picked him up and saw that all of the fur had been shaved. It wasn't like that the day before.
Tigg had been shaved on his belly and around his back leg. Bethany has reported to the incident to the RSPCA and the police.
She said of when she found him: "I was disgusted. I wondered if they'd drugged him. You never know these days. I didn't know what to do. People are horrible. I don't know why they'd do it, other than if they're cruel."
Bethany is now waiting for an appointment at the vet to verify whether any more harm was done. The mystery culprit remains at large.
