Necropsy would help solve the mysterious deaths of up to 10 cats

NEWS AND VIEWS. MANSFIELD, NOTTS, UK: This is the kind of story that I see a lot in news media online. It concerns the death of at least five cats (perhaps as many as ten) and the poisoning of a dog. They are described as mystery deaths because at the moment nobody has got to the bottom of them. An investigation has been launched by the RSPCA and council officials. But nobody has reported, it seems to me, that they necropsy has been carried out (an autopsy in human terms).

I'll explain. Where the cats are dying there is the beginnings of a development of a housing estate and the area is fenced off for ecological work before the 169 homes are built.

Nick Brooks' dog, a Patterdale terrier called Rocco suffered poisoning symptoms after walking on the site referred to. He went downhill very quickly and a veterinarian diagnosed poisoning. He recovered. Mr Brooks knew about the cats dying in the area and put two and two together and thought that the same cause of the poisoning of his dog had killed these cats.

Jasper was poisoned. Image: Facebook.

Joe Manning, and his partner Charlan Hopkin live close to the development site. They let their Bengal cat out unsupervised. They know that he went on to the site. They said that "He came back and wasn't well but he went out again on August 29 and we never saw him again."

We are told that an ecologist on the site saw Jasper, unable to walk. He was able to move his head and was clearly in great distress. The ecologist went to fetch a blanket to recover him but when he returned Jasper has disappeared.

It's believed a fox took Jasper but there's no evidence for that. Comment: why did the ecologist want to pick Jasper up with a blanket? He must have believed that Jasper was toxic in some way. Was the ecologist putting down poison to kill rats?

And according to a Facebook group 10 cats have gone missing in the area. One cat was found "on the top of bushes upside down". Many other cats have turned up dead. Cat owners are beginning to keep their cats inside.

Comment: the point I want to make is that the Daily Mail report does not tell us that one of these recovered cats has been taken to a veterinarian for a necropsy. If that had been carried out they'd be able to discover the nature of the poison which killed the cat.

And knowing the type of poison which killed the cat the RSPCA would be better able to decide the origin of that poison. Suggestion: it could be that the developer has put down rodenticides to kill rats in the area before they start work on the development of the site. They might have done this to protect workers who are about to enter the site in large numbers.

If they did that, rats would have been killed. Outdoor, wondering cats will find these rats and probably nibble them instinctively. The cats would have been poisoned by the rodenticide. That's a possible scenario.

Another possible scenario is that there is a sadistic, cat poisoner in the area killing cats because they don't like them. This is possible but I would argue much less likely than my suggestion.

I think my suggestion is credibility because these deaths are linked to this development site which points to the cause of deaths being linked to the development and not to a random individual who doesn't like cats.

It's clear to me that a necropsy needs to be carried out and then the RSPCA will be better able to confirm if my suggestion is a good one.

Also the construction company needs to be interviewed and asked if they are putting down poison. That, at a stroke, would solve the matter in my opinion.

Necropsy

Necropsy and autopsy both refer to the examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the nature of any disease or injury. 

• Autopsy is typically used when referring to the post-mortem examination of human bodies.
• Necropsy is more commonly used when referring to animals, although it can also be used for humans in some contexts.

In summary, both terms mean the same procedure but are often used in different contexts.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.