Pet owners living in a quiet neighbourhood in Nottinghamshire are fearing the worst after several cats have been found dead over the last month.
Residents in Sherwood Avenue, Mansfield, are calling for a probe by authorities to look into why up to eight cats have gone missing before being found dead since September.
Owners claim their pets often wander into the fields beyond their street, where planning permission has been granted for 156 new homes.
They are concerned the deaths could be caused by a poison or chemical, though officials have so far not found any evidence to support this.
Mansfield District Council said it was looking into the matter.
Resident Theresa Williams said she was aware cats had been going missing after seeing posts online.
When her husband found a dead cat while out on a walk, she decided to go back and retrieve it so that she could check its markings and contact the owner.
She told The Mirror: ‘When I picked it up, its lower leg came off, it was awful.
‘Another neighbour was looking for her cat after it went missing a few weeks before. She found it, but it was dead.’
Meanwhile Joe Manning said he was left heartbroken after finding his beloved cat, Jasper, is among the pets that have turned up dead.
He said: ‘There’s been that many deaths, and that many people reporting missing cats, that I’ve got a neighbour keeping their cat in.’
Developer Vistry Group said that ‘no chemicals are being used’ on the site while initial ecological works are carried out.
Nottinghamshire Police said it had received two reports of a dead cat on October 2 and would look further into the issue if required.
An RSPCA spokesman told the BBC that the cat deaths were ‘concerning’.
‘We do not know if these were accidental incidents or deliberate but ask everyone in the area to check where they keep chemicals and make sure they are secure.’