A devastated family whose pet cats were poisoned have been ordered by the RSPCA to store their bodies – in the FREEZER.
Hayley Jones, 39, was devastated after her nine-year-old cats Kenny and Bubble were killed on Monday.
Kenny was discovered dead in a neighbour’s shed and Bubble was later rushed to the vet and died after being found shaking in a corner of the family home.
It later emerged another cat on the street was found dead after being targeted by a cruel cat killer.
RSPCA officers have asked the families to store their beloved pets in their freezers to preserve evidence they might need for proving who killed the cats.
It means all three animals will remain stored among frozen foods until any further information arises or until a post mortem can be carried out.
Hayley, from Ely, Cambs., yesterday (Weds) said: “I have to admit the idea makes me very sad but it seems to be the best thing to do.
“At least we have retained the evidence if it is required. I guess their spirits are chasing mice somewhere wonderful.”
She added: “The cats were part of the family. They were not just pets, they were part of our lives and now there’s this massive hole.
“The kids were beside themselves that someone could have done something so cruel.”
Hayley, her partner Mark, 48, and their daughters Sophie, 16, and Maddy, 14, have put up posters around their neighbourhood to stop the crime happening again.
The RSPCA confirmed that they had told Hayley that if she wanted to keep her options open then she could store her dead animals in her freezer.
An inspector had visited the family after the bodies of the cats were discovered and said they would be unable to pursue the complaint.
Hayley decided that she wanted to pursue her own investigation into the mysterious death of her pets and was told her garage freezer was suitable for storing the corpses.
The furious owner plans to keep the two cats in the family’s freezer until they can link them to solid proof of malicious poisoning.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “The RSPCA inspector who talked to the family found no evidence of malicious poisoning and advised them to either bury their pets or ask a vet to store their pets for them in case evidence came to light.
“The two options offered by the inspector advised the lady either to bury her pets or ask a vet to store their bodies in case evidence came to light.
“The lady said to the inspector that she had a spare freezer, which was assumed to contain no food, so would it be possible for her to store her dead pets in that.
“Given that this is not currently an investigation for the RSPCA the inspector said that was an option.
“It is definitely not RSPCA policy to ask grieving owners to store pets in their freezers.
“Inspectors who need to store bodies as evidence use our own dedicated freezers or they may get a vet that has carried out a postmortem on the animal to keep it in theirs.”
Surely it would be easier and quicker to ask Mrs Jones vet to carry out a post mortem.?