Missing Kittens Add to Mystery in Pennsylvania

It began two years ago with a spate of fatal dog poisonings. Then the severed head of a black-and-white kitten turned up on church steps.

Now residents in this town of 1,500 are wondering if more than a dozen cats that disappeared this summer have met a similar fate.

“We have some weird things going on,” Police Chief Larry Wechtenhiser said.

Teresa Noon said three kittens that lived outside her house disappeared one by one about six weeks ago. “The cats were here one day, and I went to the store or something and they were just gone,” she said.

Police believe a pair of teen-agers have been snatching them. Although at least one suspect has been identified, police have not been able to persuade witnesses to testify.

None of the 12 to 15 cats reported missing since late May have turned up, except the severed kitten head, found on the steps of the city’s Methodist church about five weeks ago. Some residents suspect Satanic activity, although police have no evidence of that.

Another mystery is the 1993 deaths of 25 dogs fed food laced with strychnine. Police say nothing indicates the crimes are related.

The disappearances seem to have ended with the severed head, but officers still are warning residents to keep an eye on their cats.