Cat shot with bb gun, thrown from car
Morgan Hill, CA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 1, 2008
County: Santa Clara
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Stormy is a beautiful silver tabby with green eyes and a foot that rotates 180 degrees. She also has a BB lodged in her last vertebra and several missing teeth. How a darling looking kitten could have been shot with a BB gun, have several teeth knocked out and be thrown from a car before she was even 6 months old remains a mystery, one of those sad cases of animal abuse that happens when no one but the abuser and the innocent animal are around.
A woman in Morgan Hill found the injured kitten and fed her for a few days before asking Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter for help. A volunteer picked her up right before some big storms were due to hit the Bay Area, so she was named Stormy. Now being cared for in Kathy Hodgdon's Gilroy home, the little kitten is anything but Stormy. "She's a little sweetheart all the time," Kathy says. "It's amazing she trusts people after everything that happened to her."
Kathy has helped Stormy heal from her traumatic pain, and veterinarian Peggy Young has treated her injuries. It's still too early to know if the kitten will need to have her leg and tail amputated. The BB in her spine is causing paralysis in her tail, and she may need surgery to reattach ligaments and tendons in her ankle. "She's trying to put weight on her leg but the leg is made of rubber," Kathy says. "The foot turns around 180 degrees backward." Stormy's medical fees so far are well over $500, and the all-volunteer group is hoping for a little help with Stormy's bills. Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter was formed to give a second chance to animals that ordinarily would be euthanized in the shelter. The group also is hoping to find a veterinary neuro/orthopedic surgeon who might be willing to donate his or her time and skill to help with Stormy's leg - or at least offer them at a discounted rate. "We want to show this little sweetie that her trust in mankind has not been misplaced," Kathy says.
You can watch a video of Stormy at www.mercurynews.com/pets. It's painful to see how her leg turns backward.
Donations for Stormy and Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter may be made online at www.fosmas.org. or sent to FOSMAS, Box 71, Morgan Hill, Calif. 95038-0071.
Stormy will be put up for adoption after her medical problems stabilize. And if she has to lose her leg, that shouldn't stop someone from adopting her. There are many three-legged cats and dogs who live full lives.
If you'd like to be a volunteer foster parent for cats and dogs, Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter could really use you. Foster homes allow stressed animals a chance to calm down and become better socialized - and that often makes the difference between being adopted or being euthanized. Check out the group's Web site or call (408) 681-3788. If you have information on this case, please contact:
San Martin Animal Shelter
www.fosmas.org
(408) 681-3788
References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Santa Clara County, CA
|
