POLICE are hunting a prankster active in the Keyham area who repeatedly shaves a family’s two pet cats.

Berni Evans moved into her new home in Station Road a year ago with her husband, three children and cats Bruiser and Poppy.

But to her horror, both came home with their fur shaved off, apparently by someone using clippers and a razor.

Mrs Evans, 31, said: “They were shaved down to their skin, including the base of the tail.

“It was carefully done, avoiding their intimate areas, but you don’t mess with Bruiser, and it would take a couple of people to do it.”

Mrs Evans, a receptionist, said Poppy had been so traumatised that she had refused to go out for months following her ordeal.

The cats were shaved repeatedly over a period of months, mostly on their underparts, their tails and on the insides of their legs, though Bruiser once had the outside of his thigh shaved.

The cats’ heads and backs were never shaved, nor their whiskers cropped.

In January Mrs Evans reported the attacks to the police.

She said no other local cats seemed to be suffering the same ordeal, and there appeared to be no other logical explanation for the fur loss.

The incidents stopped during the summer, but recently started again.

Police spokesman Pc Baxter Provan said: “We’re aware of these bizarre incidents, which were first reported to us in January.

“We’ve had no similar reports in the area, and it’s unclear whether it’s a problem relating to this family or involving a person living close by.”

RSPCA regional spokeswoman Jo Barr said: “This is very obscure.

“We sometimes hear of horses’ tails being cut, but it’s difficult to know what the motives are in this case.

“There’s no sign that Mrs Evans’ cats were distressed, though animals are susceptible to stress and some cats will flee at the sight of a brush.

“We’ve advised Mrs Evans to keep her cats indoors for a while and would be very interested in speaking to the person responsible.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.