The one-year-old male black cat was seen partially decomposed, burned and covered in sand on Crouch Road Open Space last Wednesday (June 4) at 11.10am.
It was reported to the RSPCA, which is currently not ruling out a “sinister” explanation to the death.
Rescue officers believe that the cat may have been left there due to his condition.
A decomposed fox cub was also found nearby, but it was not clear if this was related to the cat’s death.
Animal rescue officer Ellie Barnes said: “This is a really awful thing for someone to discover. The poor young cat had been left in the middle of the park near a children’s play area in a very sad way.
“While large wildlife predation is a possibility, we will not rule out a more sinister explanation as his injuries and the circumstances are not consistent with a wildlife attack.
“He was partly decomposed, so it’s not clear when he died, but he does appear to have been burned and previously been somewhere with sand.
“We are treating this as potentially suspicious and believe the body may have been put there due to the residue left and condition.
“We urge anyone in the park on 4 June who saw anything unusual to get in touch. The cat was found in an area where children play, in broad daylight.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the RSCPA by calling 0300 123 8018 and refer to incident number 01538569.
