Woman’s horror after finding cat skewered and barbecued to death on Doncaster street

Diane Powney discovered the horrific scene while walking her dogs in Wheatley – and has been suffering nightmares since finding the cat’s impaled and badly burned body in an alleyway near her home.

WARNING: STORY CONTAINS DETAILS WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING

She has reported the gruesome discovery to both the RSPCA and South Yorkshire Police and has called on the thugs who did it to be brought to justice.

Said Mrs Powney: “I can’t stop thinking about the poor little animal and what happened to it.

“The people who did it must be sick in the head. They are just twisted, vile psychopaths. Who in their right mind can think of doing something like that?

“It just defies belief.”

Mrs Powney found the cat in an alleyway off Lincoln Road, Wheatley on Thursday morning as she returned home from her daily lockdown walk.

“At first, I thought it was some sort of stuffed toy, but when I got closer, I realised it wasn’t,” she added.

She said the cat had been impaled on a barbecue skewer, which had been inserted into its anus and had then had its fur burnt off after being roasted on a disposable barbecue.

“It was absolutely horrific,” she said. “The look on its poor little face suggested it must have been tortured and died in agony.

“All of the fur was burnt away and it had been left on top of one of those metal tray barbecues.

“I don’t know if it was already dead when they put it on the barbecue, but my guess is that if you can do something as evil as that, then it probably was still alive.

“The poor little thing must have been absolutely terrified. The people who did it need finding and quick.

“If they can torture a cat like this, then next they will be going around doing it to people too. They are not wired up right.”

Animal lover Mrs Powney says the distressing sight left her tormented and left her feeling physically sick.

A neighbour was able to scoop the cat into a bag to keep it out of the sight of nearby children and it was later picked up by staff at a local pet crematorium for burial.

She added: “It was horrible, absolutely horrible. I’ve lived around here 22 years and never in my days have I seen something so horrendous.

“This was someone’s pet and to think this is what has happened is truly horrifying.”

Anyone with information about the incident, which is thought to have taken place between midnight last Wednesday and 10.45am on Thursday, should contact South Yorkshire Police on 101.