EXCLUSIVE

Police have exhumed the body of a cat found chopped in half
and dumped in her owner's front garden.

One-year-old Tinkerbell's mutilated body was discovered by
distraught Sheree Miles on Monday morning – a week after she
disappeared.

The grey and black tabby, who had recently given birth to four
kittens, had been cut in half at the waist.

Sheree, 32, of Grand Drive, Herne Bay, says finding Tinkerbell's
remains has left her struggling to sleep.

She told the Kentish Gazette: "I can't get the image out of my head. She had been cut clean in half at the waist. It looked like it had been done with a spade or another sharp tool. I keep having to try and stop myself thinking about what she went through.

"Whoever did it must be sick and twisted in the head. She was
only one-and-a-half years old. It's disgusting that someone could
do something like that to an innocent animal.

"I can't sleep because I keep thinking I'll wake up to find the
other half dumped in the garden."

Sheree says Tinkerbell went missing last Monday and hadn't been
seen before her body was dumped.

The mum-of-two – a care worker at Orchard House – said: "I
went off to work in the morning and saw her climbing on the back
wall. It was the last time I saw her alive.

"Me and the kids were looking for her all week but it was as
though she had vanished. No one had seen her.

"We were thinking about putting posters up, but then I opened
the curtains Monday morning and saw one half of her dumped in the
garden. At first I thought she'd been run over but then it became
clear what had happened.

"I'm just glad it wasn't one of the kids who found her.

"I told my eldest the truth, but the youngest thinks she was run
over. They were devastated.

"I have no idea who's done this but they must really hate
cats."

Cats Protection spokesman Pat King, who volunteers for the
Canterbury branch, says the sick fiend responsible must be found
soon.

She said: "It is important that whoever did this to an innocent
animal is caught quickly before any other pets are hurt.

"We would urge cat owners to keep a close eye on their pets and
if anyone has any suspicions as to who might have committed this
appalling act of cruelty to tell the police immediately."

Sheree buried Tinkerbell near the spot where she was found but
her body was exhumed by police yesterday afternoon.

Spokesman Leslie Miller said: "We need to see if this can give
us any investigative opportunities."

She added officers had carried out house-to-house enquiries.