CWMBRAN pet owners have said they are terrified after a woman was awoken in the middle of the night by the sounds of her cat being mauled to death.

The woman, who lives in Maes-y-Rhiw, Cwmbran, and did not wish to be named, said she is devastated after her cat Paxo was found in the jaws of a white dog, described as a pitbull, at 1am on Wednesday (July 23).

Police were called to the incident, which took place in an alleyway near Marlborough Road but they were unable to find the dog or anyone responsible.

The mother-of-one said she was woken up to the noise of air horns and saw the dog in her neighbour’s front garden, with her cat in its jaws.

She said: “There was blood everywhere and the cat was howling in pain, I’ve never heard anything like it.”

She added: “My other cats had run inside but Paxo was a weaker, older cat who was arthritic and an easy target. We went out and my boyfriend ran after the dog and managed to get it to drop Paxo.”

Other residents in Cwmbran say they are fearing for their pets amid worry further attacks could occur.

Wendy, a friend of Paxo’s owner, is one of them.

She said: “It was a terrible attack.

“It seems to be happening a lot in the area. People are afraid.”

A spokesperson for Gwent Police confirmed officers were called to reports that a white pitbull had killed a cat but were unable to locate anyone.

The 60-year-old mother of Paxo’s owner - who also said she did not want to be named - said a child could be the dog’s next victim.

“My little grandson could have been mauled by it,” she said.

She also believes the animal is being trained up locally and claimed other animals had gone missing in the area.

“I can’t live in a world where this has been going on,” she said.

The RSPCA said they had no record of the incident.

Gwent Police urge anyone with information to contact them on 101 quoting log 33 23/7/14.