Cat shot with pellet gun at close range
Grand Prairie, AB (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
A local 19-year old woman fears the person who shot one of her adopted cats point-blank with a pellet gun may be from her neighbourhood. Jennie Kinch rushed her eight-month-old male domestic short hair named Skeet to a veterinary clinic Tuesday night after a pellet was discovered lodged deep within his left shoulder. Kinch said her female cat had been shot by a pellet gun two weeks earlier but the injury wasn't as serious. She said Skeet, a male, was discovered lying in front of the fourplex she rents with three others in a neighbourhood east of the Grande Prairie Regional College. Kinch was contacted at work but did not know the extent of injury until she arrived home. "He would just lay there like he wanted to give up," Kinch recalled.
At first, no one thought the injury was severe until they noticed a pool of blood forming. Skeet was taken to the Animal Medical Centre North clinic around 10 p.m. where he was treated.
"He'd probably would have bled to death if we hadn't brought him in," said Kinch.
Dr. Norman George, who treated the cat, said the pellet had passed between the animal's ribs on the left side, leaving an entry wound in the front and a large lump on the back just under the skin. The pellet was removed and Skeet was treated for shock. George confirmed the injury had the potential to be life-threatening. "The story is unique because the projectile passed all the way through his body and he's still alive and doing well so far," he said. Actual cases of animal abuse in his experience are quite uncommon, said George, and even rarer are cases involving animals suffering from pellet or gunshot wounds. He said, at most, he treats an animal once every two years for a pellet or gunshot wound. "It's very rare to have something that intentional, where someone shot an animal on purpose at close range," he said. Skeet was put under 24-hour observation to see if there was any further internal damage but the next day he appeared to be on his way to a full recovery.
Kinch said both of her cats were meant to be indoors but often were let outside to play in the yard of the fourplex. She said none of the neighbours had a problem with it, especially since many others owned cats. Kinch said no one ever phoned or came to her in person to complain about either of the cats. She is counting her blessings the injury wasn't been serious. The surgery had cost $400 but a close relative covered the expenses. "It's actually been a miracle," Kinch said.
She said she will keep the cats inside from now on to protect them since she suspects the shooter may be living in the neighbourhood. "I have to ask who could be so ignorant. I was so upset about it that someone could be so cruel. You don't shoot kids that are playing outside, why would you shoot an animal?"
Kinch said police are investigating but no formal leads have been made. References |
