A Mesa neighborhood is on alert after someone has been mutilating cats and dumping them in the area.
Twelve cats have gone missing and three have turned up dead in a neighborhood near Alma School and Guadalupe roads.
"The tail was cut off, the legs were broken, the teeth were broken," said Ben Smith, who lives in the neighborhood.
One cat owner may have captured the killer on surveillance video. In it, you can see a man walking up to a cat, petting it, and then grabbing the cat by its neck.
The cat's owner later found the cat dead.
Mark Phipps has been looking for his cat, Oreo, for 2 weeks.
His four young children grew up with Oreo and the family is worried about what may have happened to him.
"What would you do if it was a member of your family that was missing? leave no stone unturned. Find this guy," said Phipps.
The Humane Society of the United States announced it's offering a $2500 reward in the case.
"Disturbing doesn't even begin to describe the fact that at least one person lured and took a pet cat like a stranger with candy," said Kari Nienstedt, Arizona state director for The Humane Society of the United States. "And the notion that at least 12 cats are believed missing and three are dead under potentially similar circumstances is gut-wrenching."
Neighbors said Silent Witness and the Arizona Humane Society are also offering a reward of up to $5,000.
Neighbors hope the money will be an incentive to find the man before anything else may happen.
"The next step in my mind is humans. I've got three young kids and I need to make sure they're safe so, while I don't have cats, I do have kids and I do care for my neighbors and I do care about the safety of my neighborhood," said Smith.
Smith said he and Phipps may have actually run into the man while patrolling the neighborhood recently.
The two spotted a car matching the description of one seen in the surveillance video.
When the two tried to approach the car, they said the driver sped off. While chasing the car, Smith said he saw the man throw a cat from the car.
The suspect is described as a white male, 20-25 years old, clean shaven with short, light brown hair.
He was driving a 2007 or 2008 4-door, metallic blue Honda Civic with upgraded rims.
The Humane Society urges Mesa residents to watch their cats and keep them indoors.
Juggernaut8000 posted at 4:17 pm on Thu, Aug 30, 2012.
Only a true p ussy would do something like this to an animal. If I caught the person responsible, the police would not be called but they would certainly need an ambulance after I was done.
Engaged Voter posted at 4:23 pm on Thu, Aug 30, 2012.
Forget the reward - I run into the souless, immoral monster doing this and I will be "in fear for my life" and react accordingly.
Then again, I may need the reward money to cover attorney fees.
suej1962 posted at 12:14 am on Fri, Aug 31, 2012.
This is really sad and what will his punishment be??? NOT MUCH!!! If anything at all.
beefrits posted at 8:37 am on Fri, Aug 31, 2012.
Now before anyone starts flaming me, I'm not saying the killing of pets is in any way defensible.
I AM saying that if cat owners had to be as responsible for their pets' behavior as dog owners have to be for theirs, things like this wouldn't happen. Why is it acceptable for cats to roam free, use the neighbors yards as litter boxes, spray on cars and leave dead birds wherever they kill them? Do the neighbors of cat owners, many of whom have 5 or 6 cats, have a reasonable expectation that they won't have to clean up after someone else's pets?
The dispensation for the irresponsibility of cat owners who allow their cats to run free is unwarranted and invites the sort of savagery we are seeing.
Captain posted at 9:31 pm on Sat, Sep 1, 2012.
For those interested, below is a link to the abduction footage. Please pass this on. It's set up to monetize, and all money raised from viewing this video will go towards an increased reward for information leading to the capture of this sicko!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTn6vibIj94