The B.C. SPCA is tracking down several leads after two men were spotted behind a Maple Ridge elementary school where the head of cat was dumped on Wednesday.
The remains of a cat were found at Harry Hooge elementary, at 12280 – 230th Street, while the leg of a calico cat was found blocks away outside a house on 221st Street, bringing the total number of feline deaths to nine in the past two weeks.
In the past year, a total of 24 dismembered cats have been found in the municipality, mostly in an area between 217th and 230th streets.
Alex Pope's 10-year-old daughter, his five-year-old son and their classmates stumbled upon a cat's severed head during the lunch break at Harry Hooge.
The cat was left at the school between recess and lunch.
"It's a little bit creepy that it was during school hours that someone was on school property doing something like that," said Pope.
"That bothers me."
Lorie Chortyk, with the B.C. SPCA, said all the cats have been killed in the same manner, either cut in half with a saw or sharp knife.
A witness claimed to see two men in the woods behind the elementary school on Wednesday.
"Officers immediately combed the entire area, but there was no one there. We've had a few leads and are following up on each one," said Chortyk.
The cat mutilations prompted the SPCA to issue a public warning in March, urging cat owners to keep their pets inside.