Story highlights Animal control officers found the alligator with two dead cats in a box

The reptile's owner says there's "no way" she would've fed it cats

Authorities are asking local residents if any small pets have gone missing in past 40 years

(CNN) Jaxson the alligator had apparently been living with the Mattson family for more than 37 years.

But their decades of life together came to an abrupt end this week when Los Angeles animal control officers raided their home and seized the 8-foot female alligator.

"You cannot own a reptile ... like this in the City of Los Angeles without having a proper permit. And obviously for an alligator, we would not permit that," Mark Salazar, the head of field operations for Los Angeles Animal Services, told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS

City officials say they found the carcasses of two dead cats next to Jaxson in a covered box in the backyard of the house in the Van Nuys area of the city.

The family denies they were feeding the animals to the reptile, but authorities are asking residents of the area to get in touch if any of them have had small pets that have gone missing in the past 40 years.

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