By Tim Binnall
Cat owners in New Zealand are sounding the alarm about a sinister miscreant who has been surreptitiously shaving their feline friends. According to a local media report, the bizarre case came to light earlier this month when Larissa and Greg Robinson's Persian Maine Coon mix, Bosco, disappeared twice in a week. The first incident saw the cat return with a shaved stomach, while the second time it went missing, it wound up coming home with its mane having been trimmed. Believing that this had to be the handiwork of a clipper-wielding ne'er-do-well, the Robinsons took their concerns to a local Facebook page, where it was soon revealed that there appears to be a serial shaver on the prowl.
In response to the Robinsons' post, cat owners in and around the city of Palmerston North posted about how their pets had also fallen victim to the unsettling individual. Resident Shannyn Harris lamented that her domestic white short hair, Hissy, was repeatedly taken and returned with patches of fur mysteriously missing over the course of about six months. Meanwhile, Karen Grantley told the group that her mother's tabby cat, Koda, had also encountered the phantom shaver on multiple occasions. "Each time he has come home he is sore from obviously being held down," she said, "it was strange because the shaving is from the top of his belly down to his back legs – very clearly shaved."
Sadly, all of the owners say that being taken, somehow subdued, and then shaved by a stranger proved to be an understandably traumatic experience for their pets. It is uncertain if authorities are looking into the curious cat case, Dr. Alison Vaughan of New Zealand SPCA indicated that the group is aware of and investigating the situation. With the shaver still on the prowl, she suggested that owners keep a close eye on their feline friends and "consider keeping their cat at home to help reduce the likelihood of risks." While one hopes for justice for Bosco, Hissy, Koda, and any other pets that have run afoul of the phantom groomer, a series of similar unsolved incidents in England unfortunately suggests that the miscreant is unlikely to get caught.