Cat killer strikes again as pet called Lulu is decapitated in Kingston, London

It looks like a serial cat killer has struck again after a 20-year-old pet called Lulu was found decapitated outside her home in Kingston, London.

The animal killings made headlines last year after several cats were found gutted and decapitated.

It was thought one person called the Croydon cat killer was responsible.

But now more than 50 foxes, rabbits and cats have been attacked in London, animal groups have renamed the killer(s) the M25 animal killer.

Richard Beeson's four-year-old cat Ukiyo was found dead on a neighbour's door step

On the South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (Snarl) Facebook page, staff say they're "sad and angry" at Lulu's death.

They say she "deserved, after a long life lived well, to pass away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones".

"Lulu was a friendly, sociable cat, who loved spending time curled up on her owner's lap, as well as visiting her human friends in the immediate area," the statement reads.

"She would often sit in the sun outside her home and greet the schoolchildren who passed to and from school and enjoyed the belly rubs they gave her."

She was well-known and loved by people in her neighbourhood, they say, adding: "The manner of her death may be something her family never get over."

Croydon cat killer

Missy went missing on 4 December from her home in Coulsdon and was found dead days later with her head and tail chopped off

Animal groups and police think some of the killings are linked because the animals were killed in similar "ritualistic" ways - such as being beheaded, gutted, or having their tails chopped off, or having their bodies placed in the same position.

Snarl says more than 50 cases are connected with the killings in London.

These include two cats and a fox which were beheaded in the Crystal Palace area in January and a dead tabby cat found in Streatham the same month, as well as two rabbits which were beheaded and de-tailed in a garden in South Norwood in November.

Last year, animal rights group Peta launched a campaign offering a £5,000 reward for anyone who could track down the killer.

The Vamps' James McVey also offered free gig tickets to anyone who tracked the killer down, and You Me At Six singer Josh Franceschi spread the word to his followers on social media.

Twitter: James McVey offering "free gig tickets" in appeal.

Other celebrities like Caroline Flack and Dermot O'Leary have shared details of the manhunt too.

What we know now

The RSPCA and Snarl have been paying for post mortem test to be carried out on more dead animals to build up information and eventually find the killer.

No DNA evidence has been recovered from the animals, which investigators say could mean the killer wore protective clothing and gloves when capturing the cats.

Ukiyo's remains were found in West Norwood in September but her body was disposed of before a post mortem could be carried out

Last month, a vet told the BBC that raw chicken was found in two of the cats' stomachs, suggesting the animals might have been lured in with meat.

The RSPCA says experts think the likely cause of death in the cats was "blunt force trauma, likely consistent with being hit by a moving vehicle".

The Metropolitan Police is investigating the cat deaths but say the number of attacks they believe are linked to the same killer are in "single figures".

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