Pet owners in a Dallas neighborhood say at least three cats have been mutilated and left for dead along busy residential streets in Lakewood in the past month.
But residents say they don't think the deaths are related to Halloween after a neighbor snapped a picture of what appear to be two foxes in an alley.
"At first, my wife thought it was people picking on cats and I said, 'No this isn't what people do to a cat,'" Charlie Smyth said.
He and his wife canvassed their neighborhood in East Dallas when his 4-year-old cat, Blackie, disappeared.
"We put fliers out and knocked on doors," Smyth said. "Then our neighbor came over and said, 'We found your cat. You may not want to look; it's all mutilated.'"
At least two other cats have been killed. The most recent attack was Tuesday morning.
Carol Riemer said her dog discovered one of the cats when they were out for a stroll last weekend.
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"I look down, and she's got this cat head in her mouth, and she won't let go," she said. "It was really gross. There were all these couples walking by with their babies in their strollers on the street, and I'm going, 'Drop it, drop it,' and she wouldn't drop it."
Ted Thompson, president of the Greenland Hills Neighborhood Association, which is in Lakewood, said he now considers the foxes to be the prime suspects in the attacks.
The neighborhood association sent an email reminding its members to keep their pets indoors, especially at night.
Smyth said the other cat living under his roof now "doesn't get to go outside, ever."
