PHOENIX -- Toxicology tests are underway to determine if 20 dead cats found floating in a Phoenix canal Tuesday were poisoned before being dumped into the water.
In a news conference Wednesday, Doctor Leo Egar from the Arizona Humane Society said there was no indication that the cats were abused or beaten before their death.
A passerby first noticed the group of dead cats late Tuesday caught in a canal grate near 29th Avenue and Dunlap.
"Some of (the cats) appear to be torn open," said Sgt. Trent Crump, a Phoenix Police spokesperson. "There are some intestines that are out of the animals."
According to Stacie DaBolt, Field Operations Manager with the Arizona Humane Society, the cats' physical conditions were consistent with normal decomposition.
"When you're in water like that, they become very bloated," she said. "We'll try to find out time of death."
She said it is likely someone dumped the cats into the canal.
"We have no proof or evidence right now, but this could be a situation where somebody was maybe trapping cats," she said. "Somebody was maybe feeding feral, stray cats, and somebody didn't like it and they started trapping them and dumping them."
DaBolt said it is not common to find dead animals, other than fish, in a canal.
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DaBolt said the cats may be strays because there are no obvious collars or tags on the animals. She said Humane Society officials are going to scan each animal to check for microchips.
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