A warning has been issued after three cats were found dead and mutilated.

Pet owners are being urged to stay vigilant after the cats were discovered in Swanley, Erith and Crayford.

The Cats Protection Bexley and District Branch first raised the alarm after a missing cat was found dead and “laid out”.

A spokesman for the feline rescue charity said: “A cat went missing and was found three days later laid out in a neighbouring garden.

“She had been mutilated in the way we have come to know and dread.

“It has been reported to the police. This particular case was in the Lydia Road, Aperfield Road and Springhead Road area, Erith.”

Since the sad discovery, two more cats have been reported dead to the organisation.

A Facebook post from Cats Protection said: “Owners in the whole borough beware.

“Another mutilated cat was found on Sunday in Crayford, one was found in Swanley on Saturday.

“This is in addition to the little one was found in Erith on Friday.”

The charity is urging cat owners to keep their pets inside at dusk and is asking anyone with any information to notify SLAIN, The South London Animal Investigation Network, the police and Cats Protection.

Although the Met Police was unable to provide further information in relation to bodies of cats found a spokesman for the force did explain that scavenging by wildlife has previously been established as the likely cause of reported cat mutilations.

They said: “Following a thorough examination of the available evidence, officers working alongside experts have concluded that hundreds of reported cat mutilations in Croydon and elsewhere were not carried out by a human and are likely to be the result of predation or scavenging by wildlife.

“Police are urging the public to contact the RSPCA in the first instance where they have concerns about animal welfare, especially in cases where there is no direct evidence of human involvement. “