Cats ‘put into lockdown’ after five are ‘abducted’ from outside their homes

Pet owners in south west London are putting their cats in lockdown after a string of ‘abductions’ by a mystery prowler. 

There have been five alleged thefts of cats around Mitcham in a matter of weeks and residents are terrified that their pet will be the next target. 

Three of the incidents have been caught on camera with Ring Doorbell footage filming an alleged suspect in the act. 

Some of the cats have since returned home but are traumatised and are fearful around people, owners have said. 

Amy Mawsom was at home on the night of February 24 when her Ring Doorbell footage showed a man in a black beanie, coat and rucksack nabbing her Manx cat Bailey from Longfield Drive. 

The 43-year-old mum-of-two was terrified she would never see Bailey, aged 14, again. 

Her ex-husband Jason Knight, 53, told Metro: ‘She was distraught we all were. We have been trying everything to get her back. I don’t know what motive anyone could have to put a family through this.’

The family even feared the suspect was using chicken bones to entice the cats into his clutches after some were found strewn across a car bonnet outside the property. 

Thankfully Bailey was found on Friday over a mile away at Tooting Bec. 

Mr Knight added: ‘We are so relieved. Someone found her and got in touch. She is purring again and happy to be home but we are keeping her in for now while there is still this man out there. She in lockdown for her own safety and our peace of mind.’

Ms Mawsom previously told MailOnline: ‘We did report it to the police but they didn’t take notice. They’ve done nothing, they’ve got no description, they didn’t ask nothing about the cat, the man, they didn’t ask for the footage.’

The family said they even feared the suspect was using chicken bones to entice the cats into his clutches after some were found strewn across a car bonnet. 

The incident, which triggered a massive social media appeal, has spooked pet owners across the area. 

A resident who lives just streets away and has a six-year-old Ragdoll cat Olive said she would be keeping her indoors from now on. 

She told Metro: ‘It’s terrifying. Our cat is a member of the family. She’s like our child. We will be keeping her indoors from now on. How can anyone do this it’s a low point of humanity. 

‘Our cat is very friendly and trusting we fear she would be too easy to steal.’

Another cat lover Karen Tozer, 51, told Metro: ‘We have two tabbies cars and we are going to put them in lockdown. While this predator is out there it’s not safe for them.’

Bernadette James who had two cats and lives next door to where Bailey was snatched told Metro: ‘I am scared it’s frightening to think someone out there would do this. What could their motive be?’

Another cat was stolen on Longfield Drive while a moggie was also snatched from Flander Crescent, just half a mile away on December 3. 

Meanwhile Simba, a ginger tabby owned by Anabela Cunha, was abducted nearby nearby in November.

The theft, caught on Ring doorbell, shows a figure, in a black coat and rucksack, snatching the cat from a driveway. 

Mrs Cunha said at the time: ‘I just want to know why someone would take him and hurt him like this. He is independent and loves living with us. I’m praying that he’s still alive and if he is he may make his own way home.’

Simba was found in a garden two-and-a-half miles away in Streatham. 

Boudicca Rising, whose group South London Animal Rescue Investigation Network investigated the Croydon Cat Killer case in which moggies mysteriously died, said that the latest incidents are ‘bizarre’. 

She said ‘We think they are the same guy. He is taking cats with some force. It’s just very weird. 

‘There were unfortunately a lot of people stealing cats during lockdown to breed them and sell them, this doesn’t have the feel of that, it’s just odd.’ 

She ruled out any connection with the cat deaths in Croydon. 

The Met Police launched an investigation into the Croydon Cat Killer in 2015, but later said that there was no evidence of ‘human involvement’. 

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said on the latest spate of cat disappearances: ‘Police are aware of four separate reports of cats having been stolen in Mitcham.

‘A theft of a cat in Longfield Drive, Mitcham was reported to police at around 6pm on Thursday, October 3.

‘Officers were called to the theft of a cat in Maple Close, Mitcham, at around 7pm on Thursday, November 7.

‘Police were called to the theft of a cat in Frinton Road, Tooting, at around 9am on Monday, November 25.

‘Lastly, officers were alerted to a cat having been stolen in Flanders Crescent, Tooting, at around 3pm on Friday, December 20.

‘The incidents are not being treated as related. There have been no arrests.

‘Investigations into the incidents which occurred on Monday, 25 November and Friday, 20 December remain ongoing. The other two cases have been closed.’

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