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Mutilated Cats Found In St. Petersburg Neighborhood

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Detectives are investigating reports of mutilated cats found by residents of an enclave on 49th Street North, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.

The most recent incident was Friday when Anthony Bartolo found his 10-year-old cat, Fluffy, in the front yard, according to a sheriff's office incident report.

The feline's throat had been cut, Bartolo said.

"It's really devastating," he said. "If you can take a knife to a cat and cut its throat, you're a sick person."

Bartolo's neighbor, Lois Fuller, said five of her cats have gone missing - and one has shown up mutilated - since March.

In June, Fuller, 58, said she found her cat with a straight cut along its ribcage and its organs pulled out.

The reports prompted the sheriff's office Tuesday to assign a detective to the case, sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Tampa Bay is also investigating, SPCA spokeswoman Marissa Segundo said.

Bartolo, 47, said it is unlikely another animal attacked his cat because the wound was "a straight cut, like a razor."

Fuller said she too thinks it was a person who mutilated her cat.

"We're thinking along the line of a satanic cult," she said. "That's what it is."

Fuller and her neighbors now keep watch after dark, she said. Some residents stay up until 2 a.m., and others wake up at 4 a.m. and stroll the streets looking for anything suspicious, she said.

"We've all got our eyes open right now," Fuller said.

Bartolo said he's offering a $500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Anyone with information can call the SPCA of Tampa Bay at (727) 586-3591.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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