Cat mutilations in the Heights continue to disturb residents

The killing and mutilation of cats in the Heights area has sadly been a recurring problem for residents and pet owners in that neighborhood.

Jennifer Estopinal, administrator of the Justice For Murdered Cats in Heights Facebook page, says that she has documented 23 cases of cat mutilations in that neighborhood. There may be dozens more that have occurred but she says some pet owners may be afraid to come forward and tell their neighbors and local law enforcement.

Some more than likely don't want to relive the moment they found their pet brutally killed in their front yard or driveway.

Just this past weekend a husband and wife in the Timbergrove area close to Jaycee Park woke up early Saturday morning to find their own cat lying dead and in pieces on their lawn. They had last seen the pet hours before. They believe that sometime between 3 a.m. and sunrise their pet was taken off and mutilated.

So far that family has declined to talk to the media about the incident.

Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said Monday that the department's animal cruelty division is aware of the incident and that officials are waiting to speak with the complainant before they will make a statement to the media.

According Estopinal this isn't the work of an animal predator but a person with psychopathic urges. Some of the cats found have been sliced in half, quartered, or disemboweled.

"These are clean cuts, no blood at the scene, which makes us think that there has to be a kill room or a kill spot the people responsible are using," says Estopinal.

The sight proves so traumatic for some pet owners that they shut down and don't report the incident.

"People shut down and don't want to talk about it. They just want to move and not think about what happened," Estopinal says. "The Heights is known as a safe neighborhood where things like this aren't supposed to happen." She'd prefer that residents not put their heads in the sand, she says.

So far law enforcement has been very adamant about cracking down on people who abuse or kill animals in Harris County. Estopinal says that Houston police refer the cases to their animal cruelty unit.

Earlier this month Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said that she would seek jail time for people charged with animal cruelty.

Anderson spoke at news conference announcing a campaign against animal cruelty by Crime Stoppers of Houston and Houston PetSet, an umbrella group for animal welfare nonprofits in the area.

"If we get ahold of you and you are charged with one of these cases we're going to make sure you go to prison, if possible," she said. "Jail time at the very minimum, if it's a misdemeanor."

Depending on the severity of the crime, animal cruelty cases can be charged as felonies or misdemeanors. Among misdemeanors, Class A is the most serious, punishable by a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

Rainia Manikarious, executive director of Crime Stoppers, said the organization is offering a reward of $9,690 for the identity of the person or people responsible for a rash of animal cruelty acts in the Heights, Timbergrove and Lazybrook areas since 2008. The increased reward was donated after a family's cat was found mutilated earlier this year.

Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties saidthis week that the department's animal cruelty division is aware of the incident and that officials are waiting to speak with the complaintant before they will make a statement to the media.

Estopinal and her fellow residents think that the suspects may be using traps set with food to catch some of the cats, who might otherwise not go near strangers.

She worries that she is not hearing all of the stories from pet owners. Their stories need to be told though to stop it from happening again and again.

"Some may find the remains and don't tell anyone for fear of wasting law enforcement's time or that of their neighbors," Estopinal says.

"We encourage people to report these incidents into authorities and to the Houston SPCA because we do work closely with Harris County Sheriff's Office," said Houston SPCA spokeswoman Raquel Roberts.

Roberts reports that a handful of kittens and who were found with their mother after they suffered extensive burns on their bodies in early September have been adopted out. The SPCA is still offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction those responsible for the incident at Southwest Houston apartment complex.