It's entirely likely that the cats are being killed perfectly humanely, then skinned etc (in fact, it's extremely unlikely that the cats are being skinned alive). It sounds like the person in question is probably killing the cats to get a point across ("don't let your cat out at night, they torture wild animals"), and harvesting the skins while at it. There's nothing terribly unusual about people hunting animals for their skins or meat, the only difference here is that the hunter is targetting domestic animals rather than wild (although if a domestic animal is out at night, off its owner's land, perhaps it counts as wild anyway). All of the beef, lamb, etc etc you eat comes from animals which have been killed, skinned and "disemboweled" (a sensationalistic synonym for "gutted"). Dumping the skinned carcasses in public areas indicates that the person is probably trying to deliver an anti-cat message, rather than that person being a psychopath, as a psychopath would more likely dispose of the carcass quietly. Of course, you could focus on the less likely hypothesis and assume that there is a crazy man-hunter training himself with domestic cats, gaining sick, gratuitous, psychopathic pleasure from the horror of the owners of the victims; newspapers will certainly sell better with that style of story, which is why you have to remember to interpret what you read in them very carefully. Either way, keep your cat inside at night and it won't be hurt.... nor will it be torturing other wild animals slowly to death for entertainment (which for some reason, cat owners are rarely horrified by... hypocrisy? You decide).
I see a few ferals in Victoria too, I've managed to deal with a few, although usually I have no way of catching them. I agree that the scare methods do work, while quietly killing them and disposing of the carcasses will lead to the owners purchasing a new one. Whether or not the ends justify the means in this case is arguable and I don't like touching the question with a 20' pole :lol: 
