Last week, officials from the animal shelter and police were called to the cemetery after funeral home workers preparing for a burial found the head and torso of a cat cut, specifically placed on the ground.

"The cat was cut in half just under front paws and was placed like it was coming out of the ground, but there was no bottom half," said Tom Greene, an officer with the SPCA. "It was pretty sickening. It was pretty gross."

Greene, who has worked at the SPCA for 15 years, said he has never seen anything like the sight he found in the cemetery.

"You could tell it wasn't done by an animal. It was a clean cut. It's pretty scary that person is out there. If they can do that, what else can they do?"

Appealing to the public for witnesses to come forward, Greene said he hopes whoever committed the heinous crime is found.

The cat's name was Bruizer. His owner, Gary Hoppe, described his black and white cat as a loyal friend and a "great pet."

Bruizer got his name because of his markings.

"He had a goatee and a shiner on his right eye so I called him Bruizer because be looked like he took a shot," said Hoppe.

Bruizer was a barn cat that belonged to co-workers before Hoppe received him as a kitten. His tail pointed to the back of his head when he walked, said Hoppe.

"He had a little attitude."

Bruizer was five.

"He was the kind of (cat) who would do a little roam of the neighborhood, but always came home every day. I don't think any of my neighbours had an issue with him," said Hoppe.

"What strikes me the worst is the way he was posed and was made to make look as if he was crawling out of a hole in the cemetery. I can't think of my cat's last moments. That wasn't the animal that was lounging on my patio a few days before."

Hoppe described the behavior of whoever killed his cat as "twisted."

"It's disturbing. That's the best way to say it. It doesn't make sense to me. This is a good neighbourhood in Crystal Beach. The cat was in the backyard and next thing you know he's in the cemetery. Does it start there and lead to something worse?"