Peoria Animal Control Officers are investigating the poisoning of at least three -- perhaps as many as seven -- cats.
Jay Davies, a spokesman for the Peoria Police Department, said that such cases are unusual and that the individual(s) responsible face animal cruelty charges.
Animal Control officers were out this afternoon knocking on doors and searching for clues in a north Peoria neighborhood near 87th Drive, north of Bell Road.
Police say it all started on June 17 when Peoria Animal Control officers were called out to a home in the area. A short-haired cat was found dead and another on the verge of death. The kitties had blood coming from their mouths, but no other signs of injury.
The homeowner told officers that she found one sick cat and two dead
ones on her property the day before. The remains of the animals couldn't
be tested -- she'd bagged them and put them out for garbage pickup.
While the animal cops were in the area on June 17, another neighbor
flagged them down to report another sick, bloody-mouthed cat.
The sick cats were were taken to an emergency animal clinic and euthanized.
Four days later, another cat in the same area was also found bleeding from its mouth. It, too, was euthanized.
Lab tests confirmed that the cats were poisoned, although cops are not yet releasing what the type of poison used.
Anyone with information about the cat killers should call the Peoria Police tip line at 623-773-7045.
