Jennifer Corales wrote on the site she had seen the man picking up a cat and driving away with it, following the man in the car.

“We followed him at a distance and called the police. The police just told us to stay where we were until they arrived and not to follow him because we did not know how dangerous this person could be,” she said.

‘We are devastated’

Police have not commented on the state any of the cats were found in.

Amid the horror is a heartbroken community, with owners bereft at the loss of their pets.

Edith Fuentes, who lost her cat, told Fox 11: “We are devastated, just to think about what this man did to her.

“Every time we think about it, we sit down and we cry, because your pets become like a part of your family.”

Jennifer Corrales added: “I’ve had [my cat] since he was a baby. I bottle-fed him...He’s been with me since a few weeks old. I don’t know what he might have done to my cat.”

Anger has been directed at Todd Spitzer, the Republican District Attorney, following Mr Acosta Oliveros’s release.

“That he was released so quickly is a travesty,” said Meredith Kirby, an organiser with OC Community Cats, a local animal welfare group.

“This man has a terrifying history of harming and even killing innocent cats, posing a very personal and real threat to my own feline friends,” Vanessa Rodriguez wrote online.

“Our quiet community has been shattered by the horrifying actions of Mr Oliveros… shocking as it may be, he’s out on the streets while our pets live in fear,” she added.

The Santa Ana police department was contacted for comment.

Mr Oliveros is set to attend court on May 22.