A series of bizarre cat deaths in a Widefield neighborhood has left pet owners fearful for the safety and livelihood of their animals. In roughly the past month, at least five cats or kittens have been found dead in a suspiciously similar manner in the Sunrise Ridge neighborhood, near Powers Boulevard and Fontaine Boulevard.
The first feral kitten was found dead on the lawn of a home on Brook Forest Drive, lying on its side with blood coming from its nose and mouth but no other visible wounds. "Then, the rest of the litter, which was four kittens, vanished, nowhere to be found," said a resident who asked only to be identified as Sara, whose lawn the kitten was found on. Another pair of feral kittens were also found dead in the same manner in the same neighborhood, also bleeding from the nose and mouth.
"About a week later, my cat and another neighbor’s cat was found deceased on the sidewalk, laying side-by-side," Sarah said. Sarah’s cat Scout and a cat named Freddy from a home two blocks away on Corn Tassle Drive were found dead on a sidewalk along nearby Grand Valley Drive, lying beside each other, facing the same direction, both with blood coming from their nose and mouth. "Cats don’t just lie down next to each other and die," said Sunrise Ridge resident Melanie Blankenship. "It was just perfectly lined up, almost like, ‘Here you go.’"
"There’s definitely something going on in this neighborhood that all these cats are coming up missing, cats are being found deceased," Sarah said. Neighbors suspect the animals are being poisoned and their carcasses strategically placed for shock value.
The animal control officer investigating the deaths was off shift and not available for comment Monday afternoon, but the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region told News 5 that necropsies performed on the feral kittens indicated malnourishment, but no sign of poisoning. The neighbor who found Scout and Freddy kept their bodies in a bag which was left outside in hot weather for several days, so by the time they were examined decomposition had set in and determining a cause of death was unsuccessful.
Posts to the Nextdoor neighborhood social media app indicated other cats may also have fallen victim, and at least one squirrel as well. "We are outraged because these are people’s pets, these are wildlife, these are feral cats and someone needs to stand up for them," Sarah said. "I think this was at the hands of somebody, for sure," Blankenship said.
