My thoughts on the UM cat killer

Aged 20-30, male, local.

Likely affiliated with PPUM or the medical faculty, due to the killings showcasing a degree of surgical skill and due to several of the victims being animals that were well known to and loved by the campus.

Clearly takes pride in his sick work, and has the desire to shock/offend the public as indicated by how brazenly he is dumping the carcasses; could very well be monitoring the campus social media groups dedicated to discussing the case, or even try to insert himself into the discussions.

Likely a coward at heart and outwardly mild mannered, but has a deeply cruel streak and therefore cannot rule out eventual escalation to human victims given sufficient time, which is why it is imperative that he be found and stopped.

Will not speculate on why he does this. Who knows or cares, really.

Has ready access to surgical tools, probably sedative drugs and a roomy vehicle like an SUV or minivan as well (see below).

Unlikely to have used a faculty dissection lab or a dorm room for the commission of his crimes - he won't shit where he eats.

That being said, the animals were almost certainly not killed where they found - the photographs of the discovery sites show the presence of very little blood considering the severity of the mutilations.

My take is that he lures them into his vehicle, then drugs them; he then drives to somewhere quiet where he can take his sweet time with them (possibly off-campus), then drives to an on-campus dump site and discards the carcass for people to discover (the vehicle itself is quite possibly his 'murder room').

Would therefore be advisable to carefully monitor on-campus motor traffic including comings and goings, particularly at night.

Quite possible that he has sustained at least one injury, a bite or a scratch, from a victim during the commission of his crimes; it would be great if the teeth or claws of the various carcasses could be checked for human DNA to make a comparison once a suspect is in custody (I note that some of the victims had their paws cut off; he may have done this to cover up evidence of them scratching him, or done so out of revenge).