Body of dead cat found hanging over Black Country wall

The RSPCA is now desperately trying to find the owners of the black male cat, thought to be aged around five, that was discovered in a garden in Walsall at the weekend.

They believe it was a pet as the cat was wearing a collar, brown with blue cat footprints.

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The macabre discovery was made in a garden in Green Lane, Shelfield on Saturday morning.

The RSPCA is investigating and is appealing for information about who the cat belongs to.

RSPCA inspector Laura Bryant said: "I was horrified and heartbroken to find this poor animal in this awful way.

"The cable, a charger lead, was tied very tightly around his neck and then thrown over a brick wall from which he was suspended. It was a macabre, and very upsetting, sight.

"It is hard to know for sure what happened, and whether the cat was already dead before he was hung, but his nails were all broken which indicates a struggle and a vet who looked at his body said hanging was the likely cause of death.

"He was otherwise in a good body condition.

"Unfortunately he has no microchip so we don't know of there is an owner out there looking for him, as seems likely from the collar he was wearing.

"We urge anyone with information about who he may belong to, or how he may have ended up in this terrible situation, to call us in complete confidence."

The attack on the pet is the latest incident of cruelty in the borough after a spate of cats were shot by air rifles last year.

Five cats were targeted in the Walsall Wood and Aldridge areas between April and June.

One cat had to be put down after being hit by a pellet in her spine, while another suffered a broken leg which required an operation to fix.

A third, from Greenwood Road in Aldridge sustained a fractured pelvis and a had bullet lodged in its knee and a fourth needed an operation to fix a broken leg.

A fifth cat, from the Occupation Road area, had to put down after suffering severe trauma.

Anyone with information on the latest attack should call the RSPCA on the charity hotline 0300 123 8018.