Who is Killing Cats in St. Martin Parish? Reward Offered

A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever has been killing cats in St. Martin Parish.

According to KLFY TV10, someone in St. Martin Parish has been shooting cats and raccoons and throwing their bodies in a lake in the area.

The Doucet family of Catahoula tells the news station that several of their cats have been killed over the past few years, and the latest one to go missing was found floating in Catahoula Lake.

When the cat's body was recovered, a brick had been tied to it in an effort to make it sink and the cat had a bullet hole in its head. The Doucets have also found several raccoons in the same condition.

The Humane Society of Louisiana has now entered the chat: they are hoping that a reward will help find the culprit or culprits.

The Humane Society and the Doucets are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people killing their cats.

The story from KLFY says that the Doucets have been losing cats since 1995. The family believes that at least 2 of their cats were poisoned, and they found the head of one of their missing cats in a ditch in front of their home.

The Doucets have reported the crimes to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Department, but the family says that there has never been any kind of resolution to any of the crimes.

Lastly, I wish the deputies who respond to these calls would show some interest. They seem like they are just going through the very basic motions of taking a report and leaving the scene. - Christina Doucet via KLFY

It appears that the Doucets are not satisfied with the effort displayed by investigators with the sheriff's department, and are now asking for the public's help.

The Director of the Louisiana Humane Society, Jeff Dorson, told KLFY that this is one of the most gruesome crimes he's seen in his 34 years as an investigator.

Someone went way out of their way to cause this much suffering and pain to this group of animals. They did not deserve to be treated nor disposed of in such a hateful and disrespectful manner. - Jeff Dorson, Humane Society of Louisiana via KLFY

Christina Doucet says that she has been losing cats since 1995 in what appear to be suspicious circumstances.

Cruelty to animals in Louisiana is a crime, punishable under Louisiana law, according to the Louisiana State Legislature:

Whoever commits the crime of simple cruelty to animals shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

(b)  Whoever commits a second or subsequent offense of simple cruelty to animals shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or both.  In addition, the court shall issue an order prohibiting the defendant from owning or keeping animals for a period of time deemed appropriate by the court.

(c)  In addition to any other penalty imposed, a person who commits the crime of cruelty to animals shall be ordered to perform five eight-hour days of court-approved community service.  The community service requirement shall not be suspended.

(d)  In addition to any other penalty imposed, the court may order a psychological evaluation or anger management treatment for a first conviction of the crime of simple cruelty to animals.  For a second or subsequent offense of the crime of simple cruelty to an animal, the court shall order a psychological evaluation or anger management treatment.  Any costs associated with any evaluation or treatment ordered by the court shall be borne by the defendant.

If you have any information surrounding the mysterious deaths of the Doucet's pets, you are encouraged to contact the Humane Society of Louisiana at 1-888-6-HUMANE.