We received a private message from a lady who had a call from her daughter to say that she had seen a deceased cat along Woodlands Road in Gillingham. We attended as soon as we could.
It became quickly apparent that there was some foul play involved and the cat had not died of natural causes or by accident. Part of the cat was missing and nowhere to be found. There was no blood found at or around the scene.
A few young children were heading to school up and down the road, we didn’t want any more upset caused, so we took photos of the scene, chip checked the cat and took the cat somewhere safe, we also gave the cat a kiss and cuddle before placing the cat in our vehicle and contacting Kent Police.
We managed to locate the owner who is absolutely devastated at the news of their baby passing away. Our thoughts are with them at this heartbreaking time.
This case has been reported under Operation Takahe and a crime report is being obtained.
There has been speculation on social media sites, the news and the radio that Operation Takahe is no longer in operation and that these cases are fox related.
We can assure you that as far as we are aware Operation Takahe is still in operation and the police take damaging someone’s property very seriously (cats are known as property by law as horrible as that seems, if someone damages your cat or dog then they have committed an offence and they can be prosecuted for criminal damage).
We are also aware that foxes have in the past urinated on already deceased cats involved in RTA’s, dragged already deceased cats around and have been known to chase and attack cats (very rarely will a fox attack a cat).
With the injuries we have been seeing with these cases there has been no predation at all, no puncture wounds or ripped skin which would be consistent with a dog or fox attack. Foxes do not like confrontation and are more than likely to run away from a fight with a cat.
Please be vigilant in your area, if you hear cats fighting outside or foxes screaming then please check just to be on the safe side . Install some cctv and wherever possible please keep your pets indoors as much as you can.
Feel free to share our website post and poster to your friends and family. We as a community need to work together to keep our communities even safer for our beloved pets.
Not for profit animal welfare organisation.
Animals Lost and Found in Kent Ltd 
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