Maple Ridge resident Erich Wernicke was shocked Sunday morning when he saw the mutilated remains of missing family cat Buttercup a block from his house while out for a bike ride with his two young sons.

The calico cat went missing Wednesday night and on Saturday – after his wife Kimberley posted a missing notice on Craigslist – a horrified neighbour contacted the Wernickes when she found the rest of the cat’s mutilated remains about four blocks away.

Buttercup is one of seven mutilated cats found in the area in the past two weeks, and one of 22 reported dismembered or mutilated by the SPCA in the community since last July.

“I don’t really know how to tell them – my oldest boy [a five-year-old] was just in love with this cat,” Wernicke said. “It’s pretty sickening, but nobody really knows what to do about it.

The rash of killings has residents worried for their cats and the BC SPCA struggling in their investigation as they admit they have no suspects and are relying on the public to help them catch a “very disturbed individual.”

“We want to stop this person as quickly as possible, but there’s just no information that anyone has brought forward,” said SPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk.

There are no defensive wounds that normally indicate an attack by a predator.

“They’re sliced in half with what looks like a saw or a sharp knife,” Chortyk said.

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