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Case ID: 18409

Classification: Shooting

Animal: cat

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Kitten shot in spine, euthanized
Auburn, NY (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Aug 9, 2011
County: Cayuga

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

At least five cats have been shot in the last two months in and around Cayuga County.

Four of them have come into Cayuga Veterinary Services in Aurelius, including three in the last two weeks. The most recent, a gray tiger-striped kitten, was found Tuesday night with a bullet in its spine and euthanized Wednesday.

"We don't usually see this many even in a year, and now we've seen them in this short time frame," said Polly Michaelis, Cayuga Veterinary's office manager. "It's just cruel."

The first cat was found near Camillus about two months ago. Then, in the last three weeks, one was found near Waterloo and two in downtown Auburn.

All the animals had to be euthanized, Michaelis said. Some were feral, but others were house pets with tags.

Kim Dygert found the gray kitten paralyzed near her Madison Avenue home. She believed it had been attacked by another animal but was shocked when an X-ray showed a bullet in its back.

"No human or animal should be hurt like that on purpose," said Dygert, wife of Auburn Fire Department Chief Jeff Dygert. "I can't believe the humanity that's been lost here."

The kitten was part of a litter living nearby. The Dygerts put out food for the cats, and Kim Dygert had seen them playing earlier Tuesday.

Now, her concern is for gunfire near her home.

"I have children playing in my backyard almost every single night," she said. "It's an awful thing for that poor kitten, but tops on my list is safety. ... I'm worried sick."

A phone survey of other area veterinarians and animal hospitals, including the emergency centers in Ithaca and Syracuse, yielded only one other recent cat shooting.

Kerry Norris, a veterinarian at Moravia Animal Hospital, took in a stray cat two months ago that someone had shot through the head.

The people who brought it in are paying its medical bills and will adopt it when it's better, Norris said.

"You've got to figure it was just out there and it was target practice," she said. "He had a lot of brain damage but he's coming through. It's pretty amazing."

Representatives from the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and the Auburn Police Department said they had not heard of any cat shootings lately. Aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, is punishable by up to two years in prison.

"There's no justifiable reason for shooting a cat," said Carol Russell, director of the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York. "I don't care if it's peeing in your mulch or what have you."

She recommended that people keep their cats indoors as a general rule.

People with information about instances of animal cruelty should call the SPCA at 253-5841. Injured animals should be brought to a veterinarian.

If you have information on this case, please contact:
SPCA
(315) 253-5841

References

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