Cat owners have raised fears for their pets' lives after more than 100 went missing in one town - and some returned with possible signs of abuse.

The animals have all vanished from Ipswich, Suffolk, where their worried owners have informed police and animal protection groups.

Their fears were heightened this week after Rupert, a four-month-old tabby kitten, returned a night after going missing with burnt whiskers, bruises and missing chunks of fur.

Rupert's owner Louise Catchpole, 30, said he and another kitten called Nigella went missing from her home on Sunday night.

"When he came back he was limping, covered in faeces and absolutely terrified," she said. "His whiskers had been burned, there was a large chunk of fur that seemed to have been ripped out.

"When I took him to the vets they said it looked like he had been kicked around like a football."

Nigella was found unharmed yesterday, but Ms Catchpole said she feared that she was also taken but managed to escape unharmed.

"I think this needs to be taken very seriously,' she added. 'I am so relieved to have the cats back but they are both very nervous now. I am not letting them out of my sight at the moment." 

The worried owner is one of almost 400 who have joined the community group Ipswich Missing Cats on Facebook. 

The group has so far counted 108 cats missing since the start of the year, most of which have been in the last few months.

Only a handful are thought to have returned, including Rupert and Nigella, and it is thought at least three were injured.

The pet owners said one animal, whose owner asked not to be named, had to be put down after coming back injured.

Another, one-year-old Jenessa who belongs to Sarah Mindham, 44, limped back in through her owner's catflap after a week with a broken pelvis.

"I think that she could have been taken because she had no other injuries," her owner said.