[Noah930]

OK, feline weirdness in my neighborhood. Over the past few months, at least three or four cats have been found dead. Always severed in half, left on someone's lawn. It happened again last night 3 doors/lawns down. Fortunately my kitties haven't been harmed. The dead are neighborhood cats (they belong to someone in the neighborhood). The distraught owners usually think it's the work of coyotes.

However, I live in the highly developed suburban flatlands of the San Fernando Valley. The hills are probably a mile-and-a-half away. It's not impossible that a coyote would venture this far, but they'd have to cross 3 or 4 major streets and a highway to get this far. I'd call it unlikely, at the very least. FWIW, the nocturnal know-it-all kid across the street (who's known to greatly embellish stories) and has grown up in this neighborhood has never seen a coyote. Considering that he's more likely to exaggerate this type of thing and that he's one of the few people who are actually up and about from 8 pm to 4 am (he works in nightclubs)--if he hasn't seen a coyote, I doubt they're around.

So if it isn't coyotes, what else would tear a cat in half and leave it behind? Wouldn't a coyote eat the cat? They don't kill for fun. They kill to eat. Raccoons? Possum? Skunk? All seem unlikely to me. There's no other nocturnal predator in this neighborhood I can think of. Maybe some sadistic guy with a shovel? The remains are always found on a lawn--not on the street--so I don't think it's a car vs. cat scenario.