Well, this is a terrible way to start a Friday.

Dozens of dead cats found hanging from trees in a suburb of New York City on Friday, were murdered, officials say, in a case the authorities are calling "heinous."

At least 25 cats, some of which were badly decomposed and hanging from tree limbs in black bags, were found by public works employees cleaning up trash in an abandoned lot in Yonkers, New York.

After being taken to a local veterinarian for necropsies, it was determined that the cats died of blunt force trauma to the head. It is believed, the SPCA says in a release, that "all of the cats suffered the same death."

“They were placed in small shopping bags, the plastic bags that you might get from an A&P or a ShopRite, and then they were hung from a tree,” Lungaro told Vocativ, which broke the story. ”Some were severely decomposed. We got a couple that were still fresh, within the last few weeks maybe. But we’re transporting them and are going to have some necropsies done. We’ll know more then.”

In a photo provided to Mashable, bags containing some of the murdered cats are seen hanging from trees.

“Both the SPCA of Westchester and the Yonkers Police Department are highly motivated to find those who are responsible for this heinous act," said Ernie Lungaro, director of humane law enforcement at the SPCA. "The investigation continues as we follow up leads and conduct interviews."

While officials have no suspects, the macabre finding could be tied to a $1,000 reward that was offered in May 2013 for a suspected cat killer on the loose in northeast Yonkers.

Lungaro said at the time that authorities had suspected that three dead cats found in the area had been deliberately fed rat poison. Two others were found walking disoriented and uncoordinated, according to a Yonkers Daily Voice story. “We can’t say for sure but it’s a real possibility,” he said.

Lieutenant Patrick McCormack tells Mashable they have no information that ties the May 2013 cat murders to today's grisly finding. He says he's assigned a detective to the case.

“All of us at the SPCA of Westchester are deeply appalled by this depraved act of animal cruelty,” said Shannon Laukhuf, Executive Director. “I want to assure the public that we will use every resource available to us to bring those responsible to swift justice.”

People are now rightly concerned that there's a serial cat killer on the loose in Yonkers.

"A cat serial killer may be on the loose" thanks channel 4 news for ruining my day — Nee Cole (@nicoIemontana) April 25, 2014

There may be a #cat serial killer in #Yonkers; about 30 dead cats found stuffed in plastic bags and hung on tree branches. @NBCNewYork #NYC — felicia jean (@felicianista) April 25, 2014