The mutilated body of a cat was found in a Richmond car park on Monday, sparking fears the Croydon cat killer could be operating in a wider area.

A member of the public found the cat in Paradise Road, a day after three other felines were found dead in similar circumstances in Streatham, Tottenham Hale and Addiscombe.

FROM NOVEMBER 2014: Cat mutilations being investigated after pet found hanging from tree in Twickenham

The deaths are linked to a cat killer who has struck for the most part in Croydon and is thought to be responsible for as many as 50 killings over the past three years.

Boudicca Rising, of the group helping investigate the deaths, South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL), said the cat found in Richmond was killed in an almost identical way to the others slain across London.

Ms Rising said: “We are pretty sure it is another victim of the same killer.

“We don’t know who it [the cat] was as we couldn’t find a chip, but if it had been chipped it may have been lost as part of the injuries.

“We are pretty sure it is the same person or persons. It is just terrible.

“It is a really hideous crime. You are not only taking an animal’s life away, you are mutilating it and upsetting its owner."

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Some of the cat victims

The RSPCA is looking into about 10 deaths, in which the animal’s heads and tails were chopped off.

In one of the cases on Sunday the cat was hacked in half and left outside its owner’s home.

A spokesman from the RSPCA said forensic examinations of some of the cat's bodies' will be carried out, but early analysis indicates blunt force trauma consistent with being hit by a moving vehicle.

The spokesman said: "Examination of the bodies we have received showed that the heads and tails appear to have been removed by a human, after death."

Beccy Thorp’s cat, Mungo, went missing from her home in Hammersmith in October 2015 for four days before he returned with his tail partially severed and full of maggots.

Ms Thorp took Mungo to Richmond Vets but he died on the operating table.

She said: “The vet was most definite that this was the result of a malicious act. The vet said he had been attacked but escaped.

“He may have been lying low until he felt safe to come home. That's when the infection set in. Apparently that's common with cats.”

Ms Thorp said she believed whoever is behind the killings is mobile and travels for work.

She said: “There is a tremendous amount of building in my area and has been for about a year - with a huge influx of labourers and skilled craftsmen.

“They are notoriously transient because they go where the work is. However it could be anyone. There are just as many animal lovers in the building trade as anywhere else.

Ms Thorp’s other cat, Mungo’s brother Billy, who is black and white, went missing on Sunday, March 6, and she said she is very worried about her pet given what happened to Mungo.

Animal campaign group Peta is now offering a £5,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the cat killer.

Anyone with information should contact detective sergeant Andrew Collin on 020 8649 0216.

Do you have any information? Call the news desk on 0208722 6326 or email george.odling@london.newsquest.co.uk.