Cat shot with BB gun
Middletown, OH (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007
County: Mahoning
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
A Middletown animal rescuer found Mike the cat dragging his hind leg recently in the area of 15th Avenue and Minnesota Street.
The mostly black domestic shorthair cat was shot multiple times and several BBs were lodged all over his body. He smelled of urine and his testicles had been burned, said animal activist Deb Donley, when she found him three weeks ago.
Animal cruelty charges, a first-degree misdemeanor, carry up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Lucas said.
In Mike's case, his abuser likely will never be caught because there were no witnesses, she said.
Today, Mike is recovering at O'Bryonville Animal Rescue, a Madisonville spay and neuter clinic and nonprofit animal rescue center for feral and stay cats, where he was taken Jan. 30.
"He's much better," said executive director Kathleen Nicholson. "There were BBs (lodged) all over his whole body. There were so many in his back leg that one of them caused the nerves to pinch."
Mike is now using the limb and even running from people trying to put him in his cage, she said.
"It's not 100 percent, but he's walking on it now," she said. "We thought at first we would have to take it off."
Nicholson said despite the trauma, Mike still loves people.
"Through all of it he has not lost his faith in ... people," she said. "He's so wanting of companionship and so happy."
O'Bryonville Animal Rescue center has established a fund in Mike's name for a new high-volume spay neuter clinic for feral cats. Donate by calling (513) 871-7297 or visiting theanimalrescue.com. References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
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