Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga cat deaths: Roaming dogs suspected of killing cats in Matua captured

Leah Tebbutt
By Leah Tebbutt
Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
31 Dec, 2019 01:37 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Lexy, a 14-year-old beloved family pet, was found mauled to death on a Matua family's driveway. Photo / Supplied

Lexy, a 14-year-old beloved family pet, was found mauled to death on a Matua family's driveway. Photo / Supplied

All three dogs accused of mauling up to 15 cats in Matua have been finally caught - but the dogs are innocent until proven guilty.

Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell said DNA testing from the bite marks on cats involved in the incidents has been swabbed and would be cross-checked with the DNA from the dogs recently caught.

However, to Powell's knowledge, this had not yet been done.

"But what they do have is three unregistered dogs who clearly have not been looked after because they are roaming all over the place.

READ MORE:
• Premium - Matua residents on edge after cats killed by roaming pitbulls, police called in
• Local Focus: What do you get when you cross a labrador with a librarian?
• Tauranga council to crack down on beach dogs
• Off the leash: Auckland's best dog parks

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There is no evidence at the moment so the DNA will be definitive."

The severity of the situation was part of why Powell has become involved.

"These dogs are stray and killing animals.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They have got the taste of blood in their mouths and imagine if that had led to a child being mauled or maimed."

He did not know for certain what the breed of dogs in custody was but said residents believed the dogs caught were the right ones.

Matua resident Annelise Kalchelhoffer is among the pet owners whose cats were mauled to death by dogs. Photo / File
Matua resident Annelise Kalchelhoffer is among the pet owners whose cats were mauled to death by dogs. Photo / File

Powell also believed anywhere up to 15 cats had been killed in the attacks which are reported to date back as far as August.

Pet owners in Matua last week told the Bay of Plenty Times they were living in fear after a series of dog attacks had left a number of cats in the area either dead or reported missing.

Discover more

Breast cancer 'no death sentence' for Labour list MP

30 Dec 12:00 AM

Plenty going on over January for Tauranga

28 Dec 04:00 AM

Countdown to 2020! What's on this New Year's Eve

31 Dec 12:23 AM
New Zealand

Pitbulls blamed for killing cats still on loose

24 Dec 04:25 AM

Herons Ave resident Annelise Kachelhoffer's cat, Lexy, was killed while the family was out of town for several days.

"I cannot begin to tell you how sad and devastated our family is. We have had Lexy for 14 years since he was rescued as a little kitten in United Arab Emirates' capital, Abu Dhabi."

A heartbroken Kachelhoffer told the Bay of Plenty Times Lexy was found mauled to death on their driveway on Monday morning by a man who told her his cat had also been killed in the Matua area.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Man installed ambo light and siren in his car hoping to become a 'good Samaritan'

Bay of Plenty Times

Scrapping old boat funds youth sailing

Bay of Plenty Times

Police seek man with BoP, Waikato links


Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Man installed ambo light and siren in his car hoping to become a 'good Samaritan'
Bay of Plenty Times

Man installed ambo light and siren in his car hoping to become a 'good Samaritan'

Court heard he wanted to activate them if he came across a car accident or a fallen tree.

10 Sep 08:00 AM
Scrapping old boat funds youth sailing
Bay of Plenty Times

Scrapping old boat funds youth sailing

10 Sep 02:27 AM
Police seek man with BoP, Waikato links
Bay of Plenty Times

Police seek man with BoP, Waikato links

10 Sep 02:17 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP