Cat CAT-scan: Postmortem imaging and autopsy of two cats

•Combination of killing of a family member and the own pet is not rare.•There are different methods of killing animals.•The killing method is often the same in human and animal.•Investigation of human and animal victims is important to reconstruct a crime scene.

A man killed his wife and their shared household cats before killing himself. The combination of the killing (suicide or homicide) of a family member and the pet is seen on occasions in forensic pathology. The purpose of this case report is to provide a comparison of the killing methods of animals, ill pets and of household animals, also in extended suicides or homicides given the initially outlined case.