The news today (Mirror newspaper online) is that in the county of Kent, UK, someone is attacking outside domestic cats by shaving off some of their coat. But that is it. It is cruel and a crime but except for the trauma of the attack and the temporary loss of some of their coat through shaving with clippers no long-lasting harm has been incurred.
It made me (and others perhaps) think about why this is happening. For me, taking the logical route, it is about ‘harvesting’ cat fur with which to manufacture objects for sale.
You can do a lot with cat fur. Not that I have tried it myself. But a quick search indicates to me that a lot of people make stuff with fur. And you see the products online too.
The attacks
First point: we are not told how much fur has been taken from each cat. I’ll assume that it is not a huge amount but a relatively small part of their coat. Update: an example…
We are told that none of the cats have been physically hurt. The ‘fur stealing attacks’ started in December 2022 in northern Kent around Chatham. It terms of what interests me it doesn’t matter where the attacks took place but that they have taken place and it has happened in the past.
The RSPCA are involved as are the police but the chances of catching the perpetrators are slim. They probably do it at night when indoor/outdoor cats are roaming around the urban environment.
Second point: the newspapers report this as a series of crimes and they are but why are they taking place? If they are not classic examples of cat abuse or cruelty – and they are not – the logical conclusion is that the criminals are stealing body parts.
Harvesting from ‘livestock’
They see the cats as livestock to be harvested. From the criminal standpoint it is a neat crime as they have no overheads in keeping the ‘livestock’. The cats’ owners do that. They just harvest the fur and make products that can be sold online.
This is not about making a fortune. Just a few quid. But pretty effective.
Genetic Makeup of Calico Cat Fur May Help To Save Human Lives
