Heights-area pet owner offering $10K reward for info on dead cat

A Heights cat owner has posted a message to Houston's Craigslist site, offering $10,000 for help in finding the person who killed their beloved family cat a few weeks ago and left the remains on their front lawn. (Houston Craigslist) less A Heights cat owner has posted a message to Houston's Craigslist site, offering $10,000 for help in finding the person who killed their beloved family cat a few weeks ago and left the remains on their front ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Heights-area pet owner offering $10K reward for info on dead cat 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Heights cat owner has posted a message to Houston's Craigslist site, offering $10,000 for help in finding the person who killed their beloved family cat a few weeks ago and left the remains on their front lawn.

In the ad, the cat owner says that their cat was mutilated in the early morning of Saturday, Sept. 20 in the Timbergrove subdivision, near the Heights.

The poster also mentions that there were two more cats found dead this past weekend.

The $10,000 reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of this person dubbed the "Heights Cat Killer," who some say could be responsible for more than two dozen reported mutilations since Oct. 2008.

Last week Jennifer Estopinal, administrator of the Justice For Murdered Cats in Heights Facebook page, told the Chronicle that there could be many more others 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.

According to Estopinal, a husband and wife in the Timbergrove area close to Jaycee Park woke up early Saturday morning Sept. 20 to find their cat lying dead and in pieces on their lawn. They had last seen the pet hours before. They told her that they believe their cat was taken sometime between 3 a.m. and sunrise.

There is no confirmation that the same family has posted this Craigslist ad, but the timelines seem to line up.

The Houston Police Department and the Houston SPCA said last week that they are aware of these killings and that they ask pet owners to report any and all incidents such as this.

The $10,000 reward offered comes from the cat owners themselves and is separate from another $9,690 sum offered up by Houston Crime Stoppers for the identity of the person or people responsible for the rash of animal cruelty acts in the Heights, Timbergrove and Lazybrook areas since 2008. The increased reward was donated after another family's cat was found mutilated earlier this year.

Emails to the poster of the Craigslist ad have not yet been returned.