The Croydon Cat Killer could be mutilating these felines in an effort "shatter" the very values of domestic life.

This is according to a senior lecturer in criminology at Birmingham City University who said the killer is likely a narcissistic male from a low-skilled job.

Dr Adam Lynes also said there could be a sexual element to the Cat Killer's motives.

He cited a piece of scholarly work by Robert Darnton, titled the 'Great Cat Massacre', in which apprentices in the 1730s started killing their masters' cats out of jealousy, as part of his reasoning.

"It would appear that the torture, slaughter and eventual presentation of these murdered cats were a means in which to gain the attention of those who had mistreated and ignored these apprentices," Dr Lynes said.

"Darnton himself notes that ‘the power of cats was concentrated on the most intimate aspect of domestic life: sex’.

"Darnton continues, stating that cats ‘connoted fertility and female sexuality everywhere’.

"Taking this into account, the targeting and mutilating of cats may serve as a means to project the individual’s frustration at the very heart of, as Darnton argues, domestic life – the very essence of suburbia."

The Cat Killer is thought to have killed, dismembered and decapitated more than 400 cats across England, including in Sutton, Richmond, Epsom and Dartford.

Dr Lynes says the Cat Killer's motives could come down to a means of gaining attention.

"It could be argued here that the individual responsible is not only targeting pets, but also their owners by making them stare at the horrors that they created," he said.

"By making them pay attention to their actions, this individual is ultimately shattering the very values that comprise suburban and domestic life."