Neighbours:

It it with some sadness that I write this - last night a man knocked on our door (just off Stondon Park) and asked if I had a black and white cat, I replied that I didn't but I know my neighbours do ... he was very keen to trace the owners and I was half expecting him to say that he had accidentally run it over...

We got chatting and he explained that he went into his garden this morning and found a black white cat minus its head and one of its legs - he was genuinely quite distressed, and said that he had a cat himself and was reluctant to let it out now...

From what he was saying it looked unlikely that it had been done by an animal, and appeared to be what he he said "a clear cut" - obviously worse-case thinking may mean that it had been done deliberately by someone, but I would prefer to think it was indeed an unfortunate encounter with another animal

Either way, just to warn any other local cat owners around the Stondon Park and off-roads area - I think the guy was going to call the RSPCA incase of any similar incidents.

Cheers, Daniel