Cat owners urged to keep pets safe

CAT owners in the south-eastern corner of Feilding are being advised to keep their pets indoors at night after the deaths of five felines in the area from dog attacks in the past two weeks.

Manawatu District animal control officer, Lesley Butler, said the spate of attacks started in late January when an East Street owner spotted her cat being mauled by two brown-coloured dogs, one bigger than the other, in the early hours of the morning.

A few days later a second cat was killed in Denbigh Street and then three more deaths, in Owen and Harris Streets, were reported on Monday. A sixth cat was also found dead on its property in Monkton Street this week.

All the animals had died of wounds consistent with dog bites and DNA samples had been taken from the bodies.
Ms Butler said there had only been the one sighting of the dogs possibly responsible and animal control officers had “little to go on” at this stage. Extra patrols are planned and a door-knocking programme is to be undertaken to check out dogs in the area.

Any person who spots roaming dogs at night are being asked to immediately contact the Manawatu District Council on 323-0000 and dog owners are urged to check the whereabouts of their animals each night.

“We are taking this very seriously,” said Ms Butler. “There are some very distraught owners out there who have lost their loved pets in the most horrible way.”
She said the dogs responsible could have been bitten or scratched around their muzzle and these would become swollen as a cat’s claws and teeth were full of bacteria.
“And I would be surprised if dog owners do not become aware of such injuries,” she said.