Beloved Family Cat Found Killed, Gutted And Skinned In Rock Island

ROCK ISLAND, IL — A Rock Island man is seeking justice after his beloved cat, Milo, was found killed, gutted and skinned near his home.

The incident occurred April 27, when Milo, and indoor-outdoor cat, didn’t come home one evening. After an unsuccessful search, owner Steven Havercamp saw on Milo’s tracker that the cat was near the house. The next morning, Havercamp discovered Milo, about 50 yards from the home and skinned “like a deer,” Havercamp wrote, under a different name, on the Facebook group QCA Lost And Found Pets.

Soon, animal control and the police were involved, according to WQAD 8, which reported there was no blood where the cat was found, but Milo’s kidneys had been removed and placed by his body. Animal control confirmed a person had killed the cat and a detective was assigned to the case, according to WQAD 8.

“He was such a joy,” Havercamp wrote of the stray tuxedo cat who found the family on Christmas Day of 2016. “… vets put him at around 18 months old and he never grew up! All he wanted to do was play.”

As he mourns Milo, Havercamp has taken matters into his own hands. He is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Milo’s killer, and has plastered reward posters throughout his neighborhood.

“I can’t stomach the fact that the last thing my boy saw was some murderous %#* instead (of) the people who loved him,” Havercamp wrote. “He was probably wondering where we were and why we were not helping him. I don’t think I will ever get over the guilt of that.”

Havercamp has seen “a tremendous outpouring of support,” he wrote.

Nonprofit King’s Harvest Pet Rescue has set up a GoFundMe to collect donations to increase the reward to find the person who killed Milo. If there is no conviction, the money will go to King’s Harvest.

Multiple studies have linked animal abuse to other crimes, including murder, and mistreatment of animals has also been found to overlap with domestic violence and child abuse, according to the FBI, citing the National Sheriffs’ Association.