Black Cat Found Mutilated Was Not Murdered With Malicious Intent, Animal Service Officials Say

TROUTDALE, OR — Multnomah County Animal Services on Friday released a statement regarding the black cat found decapitated on Monday, July 3, in Portland.

The cat, named Button, was originally found mutilated in the 1100-block of Southeast 28th Avenue in Portland, officials said. Immediate concerns were that Button had been brutally murdered with malicious intent, leading officials to take Button's body to Animal Services for inspection on July 5 before subsequently sending it to Oregon State University's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for necropsy and analysis, officials said.

According to Animal Services Field Manager Randall Brown, that investigation has revealed Button was actually killed by blunt force trauma, consistent with being hit by a moving car, and then scavenged afterward.

"While the loss of this cat is tragic and disturbing, we can believe that the cat's death and condition is not the result of a malicious person, but rather that of a vehicle accident and natural scavengers," Brown said in a statement. "Cat fatality cases such as this one are common during summer months, when predators and scavengers are more active in our communities."

Multnomah County Animal Services encourages community members to continue reporting similar cases by calling 503-988-7387 for investigation by Animal Control Officers, officials said.

Cat owners are also encouraged to keep their cats indoors, or optionally supervised outdoors by using so-called "catios" as outlined by the Cats Safe at Home program to reduce the risk of harm to free-roaming cats, which while outdoors can run the risk of being hit by vehicles, killed by predators, or any of the other myriad dangers posed to curious felines.

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