Worried animal welfare groups have spoken out after the “mutilated” bodies of two cats were found in Marlow this month.

South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) chief Boudicca Rising branded the attacks “nasty”, saying the psychological impact they have on their owners are “huge”.

She also revealed the group may have found a third dead cat in Marlow.

She said: “It is a crime designed to hurt humans looking after animals rather than the animals themselves.

“If there is a school nearby, the killer usually puts the bodies of the animals outside the school. We think they do this for effect.

“We have word of a third cat in Marlow but we haven’t been able to pin it down yet.”

Both incidents have been reported to the police and SNARL said it was linking both deaths to the killer M25 cat killer, who has thought to have killed hundreds of animals in the past few years – mainly cats, but also rabbits and foxes – and is still believed to be on the loose.

A £10,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest or conviction of the person or people responsible for the attacks.

The RSPCA said it was “extremely upsetting” that the bodies had been found in “such distressing states”, adding that it had now been made aware of around 300 incidents across the south east region, including Croydon, Greater London and “further afield”, and was investigating whether they are connected.

It said in a statement: “The RSPCA continues to work closely with [police] officers as well as other organisations such as ArroGen Veterinary Forensics and SNARL.

“The RSPCA has pledged more funding towards the investigation – called Operation Takahe – and our inspectors are due to meet with forensic experts to determine which deaths are considered suspicious in order to carry out further, detailed post mortems on a cross-section of the bodies. 

“We will continue to work with leading experts to review the evidence and urge anyone with any information to contact police or our appeal line.

We would like to reassure cat owners that deliberate attacks on pets are, thankfully, extremely rare.”

Contact SNARL on 07961 030064 or the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.