Family's pet cat 'sadistically butchered' as police investigate tragic killing

dailystar.co.uk:

Officers are investigating the tragic death of a cat that was found "sadistically butchered" by an unknown attacker in a brutal incident.

Bella, a three-year-old Persian cat, had been missing since the end of August, after she vanished during a family barbecue at her home in Ballynoe, near Castlelyons, Ireland.

After posting appeals online for the safe return of their beloved pet, owners Finola O'Callaghan and her husband David received a deeply upsetting call several days later revealing that their cat had been "barbarically" killed and tied up around six miles from home, reports Cork Live. READ MORE: App that translates cats' meows into human language is a big hit with pet owners Bella was found hanging from a metal bar at the entrance to the woods at Glentrasna South in what Finola described as a "horrific, sadistic and brutal butchering."Sharing her outrage at how her cat had been slaughtered, Finola told Cork Live: "The way she was hung up it was menacing, threatening, where she was was in a very public place."The road is quiet but to tie her to the entrance to the woods, it was deliberate, it felt targeted."It was just so distressing, I went down to identify her body, and I will forever be left with that image, I will never get it out of my head."I haven't slept since this happened, I feel like I can't let my other cats see the light of day with someone who is capable of doing this to a totally innocent animal living within our community."To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.She has since shared the sad news of the incident with friends and family on social media, with one user leaving a comment suggesting that she may have been hung up by a road user.