In what must be one of the strangest news stories so far this year, police from the sleepy Virginia town of Waynesboro (with a population of just over 20,000 people) are on the hunt for a serial cat-shaver.

For months, residents have reported their pet cats going missing, only to have them returned with shaved stomachs.

There are no leads so far, forcing residents of Maple Avenue, where most of the cats have gone missing, to put up flyers hoping for new information.

So far, 7 cats have been shaved, including some pets who were shaved more than once.

The victims include indoor and outdoor cats, and Waynesboro police say they were all well-groomed and wearing collars, so they wouldn't be mistaken for strays.

Originally, they thought someone was spaying and neutering these cats, but that's not the case. Without any other theories, they're hoping someone in the neighborhood knows more than they do.

Bizarrely, this isn't the first report of a cat-shaver. The small English town of Derbyshire has the same problem.

Rebekah Martin, whose cat Tigerlily was shaved twice in the past year, says she it's affected both her and her pet.

"It hurts, because she can't tell me. I know it probably hurt her, probably not physically, but mentally that has to be really hard on her," she told NBC 29.

"She doesn't want to be picked up anymore. She used to be really nice and you could pick her up and hold her and everything."

Share this strange story with someone you know, because they wouldn't believe it if you told them!