The torture and killing of a cat in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is now being investigated in connection with the maiming of two other cats, according to a local animal hospital.
One cat was shot multiple times with a BB gun in March, another burned earlier this month, according to the MSPCA. A cat named Gosha whose brutal death has been under investigation had 11 BBs removed from his body and was burned as well.
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"We need to solve this case and get this stopped. This cat obviously suffered and was left to die alone," said Nadya Moreno, an animal control officer with the MSPCA, on Monday.
The update from the humane society on Tuesday indicates that the three cases are being investigated by the MSPCA's law enforcement arm as possibly connected, with a representative noting in a statement "striking similarities" between the three cases.
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One case involves a pet cat from the same neighborhood as Gosha, East Cambridge, which came home March 4 after a day out with multiple wounds from a BB gun on her left flank and her collar missing -- as was Gosha's. Some of the BBs were removed at the MSPCA's Angell Animal Medical Center, but not all, and her family filed a police report, according to the MSPCA.
Another case involved a cat named Buddy, which went missing in early May and came back May 5 with a burn, its owners told the MSPCA. The humane society noted that Gosha was burned as well.
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Both those cats survived, but Gosha did not. The 6-year-old tuxedo cat was found with his back legs taped together and missing large amounts of fur, along with the BBs removed from his body.
Erika Kirichenko, one of Gosha's owners, said Monday that only a "sick and twisted mind can come up with this … I'm pretty sure it wasn't quick, either."
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The MSPCA is offering $2,500 for any information that leads to a conviction in Gosha's killing, while the Cambridge Animal Commission is encouraging cat owners to keep cats inside and asking anyone with a lost pet to call 617-349-4376.
Cambridge police and Massachusetts State Police both shared outrage over the killing of Gosha on Tuesday, with the local police department emphasizing that it remains under investigation.
