Paula Singleton from Coventry told how she 'instantly felt ill' after finding 'as many as 16 cats' at a property - some of animals appeared to have been dismembered17:55, 21 May 2026A woman has told of finding more than a dozen dead cats floating in the fish pond of an empty house.‌Paula Singleton from Coventry made the gruesome discovery on Sunday after hearing reports of a dead cat in the garden of a house that is for sale in Canley.‌With two of her own cats missing, she went to the house to investigate and found several of the animals floating in the large pond, around 20ft by 10ft, and with a significant depth of 6ft.‌And sadly Paul immediately saw her own cats. "I just went into pure shock. It instantly made me feel ill," she said.READ MORE: Government issues 'contingency plan' as carrier for virus 'with no vaccine' found in UKREAD MORE: EasyJet to raise its fares due to Iran war triggered jet fuel cost hikePaula says she contacted the RSPCA but claims she was told because the cats were already dead it was 'nothing to do with them', and she should instead contact Coventry City Council.She says the council then directed her back to the RSPCA and so, without a solution, she returned to property to remove the cats herself. And it was then that she found more cats in the water, reports CoventryLive.‌"When I started to get the cats out, the heads of other cats started to surface," she said. "By the night time I had found 11 heads, three whole cats and body parts everywhere."Paula believes as many as 16 cats may have ended up in the pond over time. The remains of one cat were found in the garden, its head, tail and legs removed. "I spent the whole of Sunday fishing out parts of cats and putting rocks into the pool so if anything else fell in it could get out," she said.Paula thinks some of the injuries she found on the intact cats appeared suspicious. Combined with the number of cats discovered dead, Paula believes a person may be responsible.‌"My ginger cat had part of his bottom jaw missing and another had blood around his face," she said. "All their claws were broken from struggling. It felt like foul play."After further calls, Paula said the council opened a case involving police, the homeowner and the RSPCA. The house in question is understood to have been up for sale for several months having previously been rented out by the owner.An RSPCA inspector later attended the property and Paula says she agreed something untoward had taken place. "The lady who came out agreed there could be foul play," Paula said. "She thought post-mortems should be done because of the injuries and the amount of cats found there."‌However, Paula says she was later informed there would be no post-mortems unless she paid privately and was quoted £300 per cat. Paula wants an investigation and for the pond to be made safe. She also hopes she can link some of the dead cats to their owners."I want to be there when the pond is drained," she said. "I want them to scan for microchips so other owners can at least get some answers. It's left me completely in shock. I wasn't able to eat for days, every time I tried I just kept thinking of those poor cats."A West Midlands police spokesman said: "We were called to a vacant property in Howcotte Green, Coventry earlier this week after the remains of a number of cats were found. We are working with partners including Coventry City Council and the RSPCA, who are leading the investigation."Article continues belowA spokesperson for the RSPCA said: "We’re very concerned about the discovery of deceased cats and our thoughts are with the owners. We’re investigating and are asking anyone with evidence or information to contact us on 0300 123 8018 quoting incident number 01804675."