Cat shot with pellet gun
Fort Collins, CO (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 25, 2006
County: Larimer
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
When Wanda Kollmorgen saw the blood on her cat's face on the night of April 25, she thought he'd been hit by a car.
But when she got to the emergency vet clinic, the diagnosis was much worse.
Moxie, a 4-year-old gray and white longhair, had one metal pellet from a pellet gun lodged in his tongue and another lodged in his nasal cavity.
"I didn't think he was going to live," Kollmorgen said Sunday. "I never expected anything like this would happen in this neighborhood."
Kollmorgen, who lives in the 600 block of Riverbend Drive, off of East Mulberry Street near Interstate 25, has four cats who, up until now, had been outdoor cats.
But that has all changed with Moxie's shooting.
The veterinarian at the emergency clinic was able to remove the pellet from Moxie's tongue but felt Moxie needed to go elsewhere to have the pellet removed from his nasal cavity, Kollmorgen said.
Moxie wound up at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where the second pellet, which was about the size of a small fingernail, was removed.
Moxie's now back home and should make a full recovery, said Dr. Tom Ponder, Moxie's veterinarian, who was at Kollmorgen's house Sunday afternoon with his wife, Susie Ponder.
"He's still a bit scared, but he's got that bright sparkle back in his eye," Ponder said, adding that the pellet could have just as easily lodged in Moxie's eye or brain.
Kollmorgen is angry about the attack on Moxie and hopes someone has information about the shooting.
"The (Larimer County sheriff's) deputy said anyone with information should come forward because they can't investigate until they do," Kollmorgen said.
Kollmorgen and others have also expressed concern about the attacks, saying it could lead to others.
"Animal cruelty is a very good predictor of cruelty to people," said Susie Ponder, a psychiatric nurse practitioner. "The legal consequences need to be addressed, and if the root of the problem is not addressed, there's a chance (the incident) could repeat itself."
Kollmorgen said she is thankful for everyone who has helped her, including a neighbor who has been helping with Moxie's bandages and pain shots.
References« CO State Animal Cruelty Map
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