Authorities investigate arrow attacks on Willow Glen cats

SAN JOSE » Someone has been hunting Willow Glen cats with arrows over the past two months, but investigators have sparse leads into the neighborhood’s highest-profile attacks on felines since a retired cop’s son was revealed to be a serial catnapper.

San Jose Animal Services is investigating two seemingly related cases of cats being shot with small arrows, the first of which was reported in October. In that case, a feral cat was being corralled when a resident saw an arrow fall out of the animal, Capt. Jay Terrado said.

Then on Nov. 21, a resident told animal services officials that their pet cat ran into their house and appeared scared, and when they checked on the animal the next morning, they found an arrow embedded in its torso, Terrado said.

Both cats were treated for the injuries and are recovering, Terrado said, adding that the attacks appear to be related.

“It was a relatively short arrow. We’re thinking that it was a crossbow,” Terrado said. “They appear to have the same characteristics.”

Both arrow incidents occurred in the area of Alma Loop and Capurso Way off West Alma Avenue, Terrado said, and have led to a torrent of resident tips on who might be the culprit.

“Neighbors have reached out to us,” Terrado said. “We’re following every lead and working to narrow it down.”

Anyone arrested in connection with the attacks could be subject to a felony charge, Terrado said.

Two years ago, Willow Glen cats were the targets of 26-year-old Robert Farmer, who was arrested in October 2015 when San Jose police found him asleep inside his car with a dead cat next to him. Police later determined he killed 18 cats and injured three others in a gruesome crime spree that stretched over two months.

Farmer was sentenced this past summer to 16 years in prison.

Anyone with information about the cat arrow attacks can contact San Jose Animal Services at 408-794-7297.