4 cats found slain on Philadelphia street

Four cats have been found slain in two days on a Kensington street, and animal welfare officials, alarmed at the severity of the attacks, yesterday offered a $10,000 reward for crucial information in the case.

Agents from the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found three cats - two of them beaten about the head and one impaled with a stick through its mouth and brain - at F and Tioga Streets after responding to a phone call Monday afternoon.

Their blood was still fresh on the sidewalk, said PSPCA CEO Howard Nelson.

"They had not been dead that long before we arrived," he said.

The fourth cat, also beaten, was discovered yesterday morning after the PSPCA received another phone call, Nelson said.

He said investigators had found a tag from a trap and were attempting to trace its number.

"It's alarming because of the severity of the abuse," Nelson said. "We've opened a priority investigation. We're talking to all the neighbors and all the businesses in the area."

He said post-mortem examinations of the animals also were being conducted.

The $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the slaughter.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cruelty Hotline at 1-866-601-7722. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous will be issued identification numbers.