Purr-Muda: The Bermuda Triangle for Cats

1. Kevin
   October 29th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

   I'd say that in the middle of the triangle at that intersection there is a Chinese restaurant.

2. tara
   October 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

   http://www.asofterworld.com/bloody/horror.php?chapter=1

3. Johnny Cat
   October 29th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

   Ugh. With the approaching holiday, all I can think of is satanic whackos collecting sacrifices. it happens.

4. mdreyer
   October 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

   I just finished reading Kafka on the Shore by Murakami (?) which featured a similar phenomenon, with a more interesting basis than the Chinese restaurant.

5. Christophe
   October 29th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

   Maybe they looked into the squirrel cat-a-pult?

   http://www.neatorama.com/2007/06/21/how-to-get-rid-of-a-critter-proble m/

6. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
   October 29th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

   Some sort of predator? A few years back, I remember some folks found a coyote den around here... filled with pet collars.

7. sise
   October 29th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

   Freaky...

8. Guido
   October 29th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

   I'm sure somebody really likes cats there.

   Literally.

9. Dave
   October 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

   Just look for the lady with the tabby-colored fur coat. Or maybe calico.

10. Sid Morrison
    October 29th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    Well, duh, it shouldn't be a mystery. Somebody in the area hates cats and is doing them in and disposing of the remains. Cats are not large (generally) so it isn't like hiding horse carcasses or something. If it was an animal predator of some sort, there would be, ahem, "evidence". The complete lack of evidence should make it clear there is a human criminal behind it.

    Still, I'm completely amazed that these people still let their cats outside!!! The owners are pretty stupid and neglectful of their pets' well-being to do so. Would you let your kids roam around outside if dozens had disappeared prior. Stupid asses.

11. jwlash
    October 29th, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    @mdreyer Yes, it was Haruki Murakami. I read that one (and most of his others, great stuff), and immediately thought of it when I read the headline.

12. Kammy
    October 29th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Let me guess, this wass published by The Star or The Daily Mail? Those tabloids aren't fit for toilet paper.

13. ted
    October 29th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    Sad story. And it doesn't really make a decent triangle.

14. Martijn
    October 29th, 2008 at 9:00 pm

    Sounds like an animal abuser at work

15. just a guy
    October 29th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    when I clicked the comments link for this, i thought "I wonder how many posts before someone makes the obvious chinese resturant joke".

    Hmm...

    Also, that A Softer World story is cool. I ran across that just a short time ago.

16. Peeves
    October 29th, 2008 at 11:18 pm

    My first reaction was that the cats just started up a community by themselves..they do that you know. Humans are just a luxury.

17. PK
    October 30th, 2008 at 2:06 am

    Maybe those cats stole peanuts.

18. Sylvain
    October 30th, 2008 at 4:21 am

    Anyone knows if ALF lives there ?

19. dooflotchie
    October 30th, 2008 at 5:13 am

    Amen, Sid!!! Preach it, brotha!

    Is this the same area I read about on Itchmo about a year ago? If it is, then it's for sure someone who hates cats and is "doing away with them". In the article I read before, someone trapped dozens of cats in this neighborhood and dumped them far out into the countryside. As if that wasn't bad enough, they sent letters to everyone in that area saying they got rid of the cats and will keep doing so as long as people let them keep roaming loose. Just horrible!

    Look, it's not going outside that's dangerous for cats so much as it is letting them get off your property. If someone does harm to your outdoor cat on YOUR property, then you have some legal recourse. Not so if the cat is harmed OFF your property.

    I'm so sick of hearing people whine and cry about their cats getting hurt and killed when they allow them to run loose and get in the road or fall victim to cruel people and wild animals.

    If you don't keep your cat on your own property when it's outside, YOU are the one who is at fault if something happens to it.

20. Spot
    October 30th, 2008 at 8:15 am

    My plan is working.

21. Sid Morrison
    October 30th, 2008 at 8:21 am

    And as a followup, I really don't think these crimes (because that's what is undoubtedly going on) are that difficult to solve with a little serious investigative work.

    1. The affected area is very tightly confined. It's a small zone!
    2. The type of crminal activity demands a lot of discrete behaviour. The perp is living within that triangle or very close.
    3. To be discrete, I doubt the guy is roaming around at night chasing cats. Rather, he's got a trap set up with a can of Whiskers® in his backyard (er... rear garden since this is the U.K.) and letting the victims come to him.
    4. Cats do roam, but the roaming areas aren't all that large... aim for the centroid of the triangle as a starting point. The perp doesn't have control over where the cats roam in from, so the further one gets from the triangle centroid, the less likely it is where
    to find the perp. It's not impossible that he'll be on the outskirts or even outside the traingle, just a LOT less likely.
    5. Start interviewing residents house by house, surveying who lives there.
    6. Who might harm cats? young psychos, satanists, wild bird lovers, some super serious flower gardeners, people who raise dogs for fighting, &c. Ask local kids who the creepy neighbors are. Group each house into "liklihood bins" -- VERY UNLIKELY, UNLIKELY, POSSIBLE, LIKELY, or whatever.
    7. 50 is a huge number of cats for a developing psycho to take out before moving on to something else. No other animals falling victim? -- The guy specifically hates *cats*, so concentrate on who that might be rather than sadists in general.
    8. I think tormented teenagers less likely. Whoever is doing this has a lot of privacy and probably operates alone. If it's teenagers, the parents are *really* absent and oblivious. There is probably a trap set up and the perp operates frequently at night. Juvenile delinquents are *possible*, but maybe less likely than an adult with his own place.
    9. Probably a single person with a lot of privacy and no accomplices to start talking. A couple is possible, but less likely, and any more even less likely.
    10. My prime profile -- a middle aged male bird lover or flower gardener who lives alone. Look for the how with the fenced in backyard and a LOT of bird feeders.

    Seriously, this isn't an enormous area for the RSPCA to investigate (at least some preliminary legwork) if the police are claim they are "too busy". It wouldn't be too tough to identify a half-dozen "high probablilty" suspects and park a surveillance van watching how active their homes are at night (look for lights on and off in the middle of the night). This activity must be going on at night since the cats roam most then, are unsupervised for hours, and not many prying eyes about.

    When you come up with a couple "likely profile" people who ALSO live near the triangle center and who are ALSO busy at night, you should watch them like a hawk and try to get some real evidence on them. This honestly shouldn't be too tough to figure out -- there's a mountain of geographic data already. Just track 'em down and stop thinking about kooky non-likely supernatural or animal predator explanations.

22. Aki
    October 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am

    Ewww....I am sure somewhere there right now...someone's happily chewing the cat meat!!!-yucky-

23. JB
    October 30th, 2008 at 11:45 am

    My first thought was it's the work of human(s), and they are garden-lovers and cat-haters. Cats in the neighbourhood are getting onto their property, and the owner takes care of the cat before their precious landscaping gets messed up. Very nasty. Here's a clue - look for the people with the nicest gardens/grounds.

    My second thought was to people of that area - don't let your cat out!!! Cats can live a full life indoors. Look at the one who gets peanuts out of a jar!!

24. marishka
    October 30th, 2008 at 11:57 am

    Maybe the cops should but a tail on a cat (har!) and see where it winds up.

25. The Slapster
    November 2nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    It's so obvious: Cat burglar. Nyuck nyuck.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT