By Mary Kathryn Carpenter

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Eight of 15 stray cats Jill Thomas cares for have gone missing in the last month.

“I love animals,” Thomas said. “I don’t understand why people would want to harm them.”

After receiving a letter from an anonymous neighbor requesting Thomas contain the cats in her yard, the cats slowly began disappearing, Thomas said.

Two other cats that had been missing nearly three weeks have shown up with wounds around their neck, which appear to be from a wire trap.

A wire trap is a noose like trap that pulls tight when an animals walks through it.

As the animal tries to escape, it can be cut deeply or strangled.

The cats that have returned to Thomas’s home have hair missing from their neck area and moderate wounds.

Thomas has filed a report with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department in hopes of bringing whoever is causing harm to the animals to justice.

Mississippi law on cruelty to animals states that if a person were to maliciously harm an animal, that person can be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

First offense of animal cruelty is punishable by a maximum $2,500 fine or six months in prison. A second offense is punishable by  maximum $5,000 and five years in prison, said ACSO public information officer Courtney Taylor.

“The case of the missing stray cats has been prioritized by our investigators,” Taylor said. “It will be pursued as other cases that pose a threat to public safety are resolved.”