To think that the idea that the Croydon Cat killer is actually a Fox is a load of b*ll**cks

[mumof2andsurviving]

^^just that really. I'm not buying this fox theory. Mutilated cats left on owners doorsteps...don't think even the most intelligent foxes could manage that.

AIBU to feel that either a) the police no longer have resources to spend on this or b) it is a tactic used to try and lull the perpetrator into a false sense of security?

To clarify they're not saying the foxes killed them, just that the foxes scavenged the remains after the cats were hit by cars.

I think it's likely something else has been going on in some cases ... but some instances in the same time period can be explained by this fox CCTV.

Lots of cats in inner city locations get killed on the roads and foxes will disturb the remains.

But what about those placed on doorsteps?

Absolutely agree. The cats have all been killed in the same way - can't be the same fox! Ridiculous.

*NothingonTellyAgain
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And they had 15 officers on it? Really???? And on the other hand cressida dick gives an interview and basically she's not interested in historical sex offences or "date rape"....

Jeez, did she say that? That's a while other thread.

*whole

I'm confused because for ages now this has been taken seriously - undisclosed methods linking many cat mutilations, warnings that the killer is likely to move on to humans due to the specific profile.
All of a sudden it's a fox? Bollocks. Death by fox definitely would not lead to the above. Fox kills are driven by instinct and are easy to identify.

She said it in sort of coded language but yes, in an interview with can't remember who.

Another thread though!

This area is teeming with cats and foxes. Cats get killed on the roads fairly frequently but their heads don't tend to turn up in people's gardens.

I'm not doubting that some dead cats do get scavenged by foxes, as well as by the crows etc. But if it was all foxes, why was there so much apparent evidence of human involvement? And if actually there was no evidence of human involvement, why on earth didn't they think of foxes before?

Yes I’m aware of that.

So since 2014, over 400 animals have been mutilated, presumably abducted and left by their homes (as someone said they’d been left on doorsteps) with no escalation and no clues whatsoever that it’s a human other than gossip?

Well, like I said, it’s a niche.

YANBU I heard this on the radio earlier and even the newsreader read it with an air of

I'd be surprised if it was a fox unless it's some mutant ninja fox... my cats (there has been many over the years) have always seen off foxes they are far more bossy with foxes than dogs.

its bullshit.

i'm not saying there isn't the chance that foxes or rogue stray dogs might not be responsible for some of them, but dismissing there being ANY human involvement is a load of complete cobblers.

I find it far more believable that it's cars and foxes than a random weird serial killer tbh.

They have cctv of the foxes carrying parts of the cats BTW.

Or are people who live in cities completely in denial about what foxes actually do

I have said on another thread but there was someone definitely killing some of these cats. I’m a biologist too and I know that foxes can’t decapatate and remove internal organs and line them all up in neat rows in broad daylight with eating any of it. Maybe some was foxes, some I think not so.

The animal cruelty= serial killers thing is a liad of bollocks. Lots of people get off on animal cruelty and only a tiny proportion of them go on to become serial killers. And given the inability of the M to recognise a serial killer when he was killing people (Stephen Port) I doubt theyd have much luck with this approach.

Foxes scavenge remains. It's what they do. They are very lazy hunters actually. No denial here

Of the Met

I’m also not convinced from what I’ve heard about the ways the cats were found... although cats can definitely be hurt by foxes.

Our cat was nearly killed by foxes when I was a teenager - we lived in South London, and I know that the urban foxes there were totally different to the ones near me now in the North East, they were much more brazen.

My dad woke up with the noise and saw 2 foxes fighting over her on the lawn, he ran down and luckily they dropped her and ran. She had bad puncture wounds and they had broken 3 ribs and her jaw. She was a petite older cat though, our bigger male would chase the foxes out the garden.

Statement from SNARL:

"Further to our statement this morning, we would like to add the following:

The cats who have been decapitated have had their heads removed in exactly the same manner and place each time. Where we have recovered both head and body, the same small part is missing from each.

We find it difficult to understand how foxes can replicate this perfectly across a range of victims across a vast geographical area.

What has also not been explained is why we have no cases in Scotland or Wales, Devon, East Anglia, Suffolk, Rutland, etc given that we have rescue and lost and found contacts there who would notify us if bodies were found.

In Sussex, there was a case where a rabbit was killed and his body displayed in the same manner as the cats and rabbits and foxes we have attended in other areas. His injuries were a match to these other victims. His liver was placed at the bottom of the garden on a raised stone next to the shed, with a trail of fur leading to it. The next night, the owner’s locked catflap was kicked in and the victim’s collar placed on the stone his liver had been. That’s not foxes.

In West Wickham, a cat’s collar was returned five months after the cat was killed. That’s not foxes.

In Watford, a rabbit was killed and six months later, his head was returned to his garden and found by his owner. It was pristine and looked like it had just happened. This wasn’t reported to Police as she was disgusted by their response when reporting the incident. That’s not foxes.

Early on in the investigation, two years ago, a headless cat was found near his home in Morland Road, Addiscombe. The cat’s head was found in Dalmally Road, upright, in the centre of the garden. The body was missing the same, small piece we had already noted on other victims.

All four of these victims had injuries identical to those seen elsewhere. If foxes are responsible for the others, then how have they managed all of this? If foxes are responsible for all of the others but not the ones mentioned above, how is it that the injuries are identical?

Finally, we decided to visibly monitor an area where there had been a spate of attacks over an extended period. In the 10 months since that started, there have been no further incidents in that area. There have however been attacks just outside that area.

For all of these reasons, we have taken a collective decision this afternoon to continue with the investigation. We now have the skills within our extended team to cover most of what police would be doing anyway.

The police have stated today that they have never had a full time officer assigned to the case, so we are wondering now how much time has actually been spent trying to solve this.

That said, we also know of some exceptional police work done at the start of this case and would like to thank the officers who worked on it.

Finally, our thoughts are with owners tonight who have been confronted by this news without any prior warning. We have tried to get hold of as many of you as possible but if we haven’t got hold of you yet our apologies, we have been inundated and are doing our best under very difficult circumstances."

@Medwaymumoffour where’s the evidence of that though? I mean the lining up? Where’s the evidence that the human involvement isn’t someone coming across a dead animal and playing silly buggers with the carcass to whip up locals into a froth?

@BarbarianMum Obviously becoming a serial killer is quite an escalation, there aren't many serial killers in society. But some of those who have gone on to murder in a serial killer pattern do have a history of animal abuse.

It isn't hard to imagine that someone who gets off on hurting and dismembering animals could be a high risk offender

I don’t know, foxes are bastards and scavengers. Knowing the damage they can do to a hen house or a newborn lamb, I can easily see an injured (RTA) cat being picked off by one

Having said that, it’s well known that animal mutilation is a precursor to human murder amongst the psychopathic amongst us, so perhaps a combo of both

A few years ago I had an elderly cat killed by what I assume was a fox. I knew there were foxes about.

All I found of my cat were her tail in one corner of the garden, under some trees, and some innards in another part of the garden. Once I worked out what had happened, and got over the horrible shock of it, I could see where long grass had been disturbed where the fox had caught the cat when she was sleeping. She was about 20 years old and getting deaf so wouldn't have heard the fox until it was too late.

It was clearly the actions of an animal predator, not a human.

Medwaymumof4
I have said on another thread but there was someone definitely killing some of these cats. I’m a biologist too and I know that foxes can’t decapatate and remove internal organs and line them all up in neat rows in broad daylight with eating any of it. Maybe some was foxes, some I think not so.

Exactly. I'm not naive. I know foxes may be responsible for some cat deaths but we seriously these foxes must be seriously skilled.

Foxes constantly leave headless rabbits in one part of my field.

Once I found a perfect, unblemished, decapitated ducks head left on a pot in my garden. It didn't occur to me that it might not have been a fox.