Dead Cat, Possibly Tortured, Found in Hawthorn Woods

A Hawthorn Woods family made a gruesome discovery in their backyard - their deceased family cat.

To make matters worse, it appeared the cat may have been tortured prior to its death, according to the woman who filed the police report with Hawthorn Woods Police.

Hawthorn Woods Police Chief Jennifer Paulus said the department received a report on Sept. 23 of a deceased cat found in a backyard on the 0-100 block of Highpoint Drive.

Paulus said the woman reported that her cat went missing on Sept. 13. On Sept. 17, the cat was found dead in the yard and it seemed that the cat was tortured prior to death, the woman stated in the report. 

Police were not able to verify whether or not the cat was tortured because the family had already buried the cat in the backyard at the time the report was made, Paulus said. Paulus noted that the report came six days after the cat was discovered.

Anyone with information about the cat can call the Hawthorn Woods Police Department at 847-438-9050.

A concerned Lake Zurich High School parent contacted Lake Zurich Patch about the cat.  She said one of her daughter's friends posted on Facebook that his cat had been skinned and carved and returned to his yard. The police could not verify this, as the cat was already buried. 

The parent, who did not want to be identified, said she hoped the rumor was a hoax. 

"The kids are a little freaked out at school - that someone who did this is running around out there," she said.