The little six-year-old girl desperately wanted a kitty and so the Gleason's searched for one who could get along with the family dog. Unfortunately, none of the rescue shelter cats they tried was compatible. "We prayed that we would find a nice cat that liked our dog, and a few days later, he just showed up at our front door," the mom said. It appeared that, like an answer to a prayer, Tommy was adopting them.

Today, however, Tommy's 6-year-old companion is grief stricken. At least 19, and perhaps as many as three dozen of our feline friends in the Miami, Florida area were murdered and mutilated by a mysterious serial cat killer (or killers). "Part of his skin was missing underneath ... and part of his legs," the little girl's mom said, "he was partially skinned." Local police reported that Tommy's sadistic demise was related to a string of recent feline murder-mutilations. While revealing that some of the dead cats were found "posed", Miami-Dade County Police spokesperson Bobby Williams, in an obvious understatement, acknowledged that anyone capable of such cruelty "is disturbed at some sort of level." The mom, Donna Gleason, reacted understandably : "... to know that this happened right in front of your house, while you're sleeping inside. I'm not terrified, but I'm not sleeping as well as I used to." As for her daughter, Donna said : "She loved him and played with him every morning. ... She just misses him. We told her that Tommy was killed by an animal ... Well, an animal did kill him."

A $10,000 reward was posted and police advised people to keep their cats inside. Still the gruesome string of killings continued, some of the murders taking place in broad daylight. Even a police officer's cat wasn't safe. "Everyone in the neighborhood knows it's a police officer's house. Another police officer lives right across the street. It's just crazy someone has the nerve to do this," resident Michael Miller told local news reporter Jen Herrera. "It's scary. I've got three cats. I think the whole thing is absolutely bizarre," added Robert Holley, "I can't believe somebody can cruise up and down or not be seen as suspicious. It's really eerie." "What it did was it took away my security," said Ruby Jenkins, whose cat, Vagrant, was victimized. "The day after I just sat in there with the windows closed, the blinds closed." When one of Wayne Edwards' cats was found mutilated, he began a neighborhood patrol : "I patrol. There's another lady that patrols with me. We take turns. I'm going to find him. If they don't find him, I will." The reward for information was raised to $12,000.

On June 14, police arrested an unemployed 18-year-old : Tyler Hayes Weinman - immediately giving a black eye to skateboarders and marijuana users everywhere. Said Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson : "And what of the perpetrator, depraved, demented, twisted; who knows what went into this kid's thought process as these crimes were committed?" Placed under police surveillance after several phone tips, Weinman, who was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty (with intent to kill) and burglary, faces up to 158 years in prison if convicted on all counts. According to Cutler Bay Mayor Paul Vrooman, not everyone was outraged : "I read a blog post this morning from one misguided poster who said he actually supported these acts because cats were a nuisance to him. To anyone who shares that opinion let me make ... clear that cruelty is inhuman no matter what form it takes. The cruelty of these crimes (was) horrific for the animal victims - but there were many human victims as well. Let's not forget the children and families who found their pets mutilated, these awful wounds inflicted a human toll."

Within days, Tyler was fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and released for "home confinement", although he was allowed to stay with relatives because of fears for his safety. As police investigated whether or not Tyler was part of a "ring", his father defended him: "We are cat owners ourselves. We love our pets ... We certainly understand the grief that other cat owners are going through, and we sympathize with them, but it is not our son ... We've seen him play with our pets for years ..." In the meantime, however, the grisly series of murder-mutilations appears to have abated. Young Mr. Weinman is due in court for arraignment on Monday (July 6).

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DCat here, folks. While, of course, you humans have the right to judge one of your own kind, we cats would like to point out that, if allowed, we can protect ourselves. Just down the road at the Miami Metro Zoo, some of our cousins have graciously volunteered to help ...

Specifically, I refer to Palenque and Reina, the lovely Jaguar couple. Reina, the female, is particularly anxious to invite the guilty party (or parties) over for a little game of "Let's See Who Mutilates Who". The playful couple know how much it costs to care for them, and they would welcome the opportunity to spare the State of Florida the incredible expense of an extended incarceration ...

Now, if that reasonable offer is looked upon unfavorably, I would like to offer myself as an alternative. I must admit to a recurring dream of running into the killer(s) being transported to that "undisclosed location". Remember the rule, anything not nailed down is a cat toy: