Waynesboro, Va. -- Police in a small Virginia city are investigating a spate of unexplained cat shavings that have been occurring since December.

At least seven cats in a neighborhood of Waynesboro have been victimized. Waynesboro is about 90 minutes from Richmond.

The animals have been shaved without their owners' permission, according to The Roanoke Times. None of the pet owners have seen the person shaving the cats and no witnesses have come forward.

Cats owned by at least two separate residents have been shaved. The animals were shaved on their underbelly, groin and leg areas.

The cats were not otherwise harmed, the Times said. The shaving was done with a razor of some kind.

The animals involved are clearly pets, not stray or feral animals. They were all wearing collars and are well groomed, according to the Times.

Police initially thought a proactive citizen might have been taking the animals to get spayed or neutered, according to NBC 29 in Virginia. But that theory was disproved when some of the animals were shaved multiple times.

The perpetrator is apparently abducting the cats while they are outside their homes and then shaving them, according to waynesboro.com, a local news website.

Police gave permission for residents to put up flyers seeking information about the incidents, the site said. The flyers note that the episodes have proved "very upsetting to the cats and their owners."

They ask anyone with information about the shavings to contact police.

"Our cats will thank you!"

Flyers have been posted that warn residents of the Tree Streets that somebody is abducting cats and shaving their... Posted by Waynesboro.Com on Thursday, April 27, 2017

Police first learned of the shaving incidents earlier this week.

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