At least 22 cats butchered near Vancouver

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 30 (UPI) -- Police and animal investigators are asking for information to find out who has mutilated 22 house cats in recent weeks in a suburban area east of Vancouver.

Residents of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, have been told to keep their pets inside or within view at all times outside until the killer or killers can be found, The (Vancouver) Province reported Wednesday.

Lorie Chortyk, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told The Vancouver Sun it was critical the public start being more vigilant and reporting suspicious behavior.

"We want to stop this person as quickly as possible, but there's just no information that anyone has brought forward," she said. "They're [cats] sliced in half with what looks like a saw or a sharp knife."

Criminologist Darryl Plecas told the Province evidence suggests to him the killer isn't one likely to advance to killing people.

"I wouldn't think for a minute that it's escalating behavior," he said. "This is someone who is severely disturbed, and has been like that for a long time."