A raft of celebrities have lent their support to a campaign to catch the so-called Croydon cat killer.
More than 30 cats are thought to have been mutilated and killed by the so-called 'Cat Ripper of Croydon' in the past two years, with a rise in incidents in recent months.
Animal rights group PETA has put up a £5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person behind the killings.
X Factor hosts Dermot O’Leary and Caroline Flack have retweeted the charity's appeal, as has You Me At Six’s lead singer Josh Franceschi.
The Vamps’ lead guitarist, James McVey, is also offering free tour tickets to anyone who can help to track the killer down.
The celebrity backers have between them helped the charity's appeal to reach millions more people.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">PETA Offers £5,000 Reward to Help Catch ‘Cat Ripper of Croydon’ <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/Glh9p4sXFT" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3163901-https://t.co/Glh9p4sXFT" data-vars-event-id="c23">https://t.co/Glh9p4sXFT</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CroydonCatKiller?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3163901-https://twitter.com/hashtag/CroydonCatKiller?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#CroydonCatKiller</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/KMISexjoIw" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3163901-https://t.co/KMISexjoIw" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/KMISexjoIw</a> — PETA UK (@PETAUK) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/PETAUK/status/687936866910384128" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3163901-https://twitter.com/PETAUK/status/687936866910384128" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 15, 2016</a>
The group initially offered £2,000 for information leading to a successful prosecution, but upped the reward earlier this month.
The killer is thought to have targeted felines across south London in Croydon, Mitcham, Streatham, West Norwood, and Charlton.
Last week a five-year-old black and white cat called Louie had to be put down after he was found with serious injuries, which were though to have been delibrately inflicted.
The cat was found in Sutton with a large cut to his nose, a sticky substance around his neck and his front leg severed and hanging off, attached only by skin.
Elisa Allen, PETA associate director, said: “It’s imperative that any community faced with such sadistic and violent acts take measures to find the culprit and bring him or her to justice.
“Animal abusers are a danger to everyone – they take their issues out on whoever is available to them, human or non-human, and must be caught before they act again.”
Cat owners are also being urged to be vigilant of their pets' whereabouts and to keep them indoors when possible.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police in Croydon are investigating a number of incidents relating to cat deaths in the area. We are currently working to establish the facts.”
Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.
