By Raven Saunt For Mailonline
Published: 06:24 EDT, 7 August 2019 | Updated: 09:38 EDT, 7 August 2019 Pultrusion Roving
A family has been left devastated after their beloved pet cat was found with its head savagely chopped off.
Three-year-old Forest, a rare Norwegian Forest breed, was initially reported missing from their family home in Folkestone, Kent, after failing to come in at night.
Kate and Shaun Floydd-Smith were on holiday in Portugal with their seven-year-old daughter Tiger-Lily at the time but had arranged for their goddaughter to cat-sit.
Forest was a rare Norwegian Forest breed. He was discovered over a mile away from his home with his head savagely cut off
Forest's mutilated body was found a few days later nearly a mile away from his home.
Kate and Shaun only learnt about the details of their pet's horrific death when they returned from holiday.
Explaining what happened, Kate said: 'My goddaughter was house sitting for us while we were away.
'We loved Forest and couldn't bear putting him into a cattery.
'She let him out on Tuesday but he didn't come back in. He never stays out at night.
'When he didn't come back by Wednesday morning she knew something was wrong.
'She reported him missing to Folkestone and Hythe Cats Protection and launched an appeal on Facebook and Instagram, and everyone was sharing it. She did everything she could.
'But we think some horrible nasty person picked him up in the alley way and carried him off and mutilated him.'
Forest was discovered headless over a mile away on a driveway by a resident who contacted the police and the RSPCA.
The animal charity took his body to the Hythe Vet Centre and he was examined by vet Colin Armstrong.
He found the skin around his neck had been 'cut clean and straight' and he had been decapitated.
Kate said: 'The woman who found him was devastated. I felt so sorry for her.
'The vet said it was very suspicious circumstances - he said it was not an animal attack and he wasn't hit by a car.
'We still haven't found his head, we've been looking for it.'
Forest's head has not yet been found but his devastated owners Kate and Shaun Floydd-Smith continue to search for it
As Forest was micro-chipped, the vets were able to call the family and let them know he had died but didn't reveal the true horrors while they were still away.
Kate, who paid £950 for Forest as a kitten, said: 'My daughter is devastated.
'This has affected everyone - my husband, my mum, my daughter's friends, our neighbours, our work colleagues.
'The community where we live is distraught. He was such a friendly cat and everyone loved him.
'Everyone is on high alert now and worried it will happen again.
'We are speaking out because we want everyone out there to put their cat in at night.
'We are also offering a £1,000 reward to anyone who might know who was behind this. We don't want this happening again to another family.'
She added that her daughter is distraught: 'Forest was so friendly and lazy. He loved to stay indoors and wait for Tiger-Lily to come home from school.
'They were together all the time and he would lie on her bed at night. This cat was her life.
'It's like her best friend has been taken away from her. She's been sobbing ever since.
'In her sleep she's saying 'where's Forest?' It makes it all so much worse to see her like this.'
Kate Floydd-Smith (right) pictured here with family friend Charlie Doherty (left) and daughter Tiger-Lily (centre) has said they only learnt how Forest had died after they returned from holiday
Jenny Wolfe, from Folkestone and Hythe Cats Protection, helped support the family. She said: 'It just makes you feel sick that someone could do this to a defenceless animal.
'There are no words. Our advice to pet owners is to always keep their animals in at night.'
Forest was the family's only pet and will now be cremated.
A RSPCA spokeswoman said: 'This would have been very distressing for the person who found this cat and the owner of Forest who must understandably be devastated by the loss of their beloved pet.
'Thankfully deliberate cruelty against cats is rare and in many cases the cause of death is often predation from other animals or a road traffic accident.
'However, we are aware of this and take all concerns about animal cruelty very seriously and if anyone has any further evidence about this specific incident then please call us on 0300 1234 999.'
Police carried out a three-year investigation to find the Croydon Cat Killer but concluded that cars and foxes were to blame for the deaths of more than 500 animals in the area
A police spokeswoman said: 'Kent Police is making enquiries to establish the circumstances following a report of a cat found dead with severe injuries in Grimston Avenue, Folkestone on Wednesday, July 31.
'The cat had been missing since the evening of Tuesday, July 31. Anyone with information should call Kent Police on 101.
Having posted about the attack on social media one user, Blackandpurple, wrote: 'Whoever did this is absolute vile, sub-human **** who will probably go on to kill humans. Sick individual.'
Another, Sydney Carter, added: 'How disgusting - who would do such a thing? I hope the savage who has done this is caught and suitably punished.'
In September 2018 the remains of another cat were found in Folkestone which sparked fears the so-called Croydon Cat Killer had turned his attentions to the town.
Police initially carried out a three-year investigation to find the Croydon Killer but concluded that cars and foxes were to blame for the deaths of 500 animals in the area, despite continuing protests from furious pet owners.
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