Reuters / Darrin Zammit Lupi
One suspect is believed to be behind the “horrific” killings of 13 cats in Washington state. The 13th cat was found dead Thursday in Thurston County, near state capital Olympia. The brutal killings have seen one cat surgically slit and laid out in public for people to see—others have had their spines removed or were found dismembered. Most of the incidents have happened in August but the string of attacks is believed to have started in February of this year. Kathy Harrigan’s deaf, 20-year-old cat, Harley, was one of the victims of the killings—she told USA Today: “He didn’t want to be indoors, so lived in our yard. He was deaf and lacked muscle tone; disliked people but came to love my husband and myself, as we loved him. It is heartbreaking that he was killed and hurt in the way he was.” A scalpel appears to have been used in the killings. A local animal sanctuary is offering a $36,000 reward to find the cat killer.