A family in Simcoe, Ont., is expressing gratitude to their community for coming to their support after one of their cats was shot several times with a pellet gun.
Two pellets remain in her skull while a third is in her chest, her owner says
Desmond Brown · CBC News
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After being shot by a pellet gun and going through surgery, Cutie the cat came home.
“The kids kept her name Cutie that she came with because she’s the cutest cat,” Natasha Crook said. “She’s friendly with everybody, she likes to snuggle, sleep on the blankets, she doesn’t hurt anything, she’s the most gentle cat ever.”
What started as an oversight as the family of five left home one morning, ended in Cutie almost being killed, and the family facing a bill totalling thousands of dollars to save her.
Crook said Cutie will turn four in January and has been living with the family since being adopted as a kitten from Hearts To Homes Feline Rescue & Sanctuary in Brantford, Ont.
Crook said Cutie, an indoor cat, escaped from the family’s home in Simcoe, Ont., through an open door around 9 a.m. on Oct. 2. After two days of extensive search and a lot of worry, one of their two dogs — a golden retriever — found her in bushes at a park nearby.
“Right away we could tell she was injured because her eye was very milky-white looking [and] it looked very infected. We thought maybe she got into a fight with another cat,” Crook told CBC Hamilton.
After a closer examination, Crook said she saw what looked like a piece of metal sticking out of her back, and the family brought the cat to Brant Norfolk Veterinary Clinic.
“They took her in right away and did X-rays, and they came back out and the doctor told me … they had found seven pellets inside of her, and that one had gone right through her eye, and she would have to lose the eye [but] they would do what they could to save her,” Crook said.
The pellets “had missed her spine and they had missed her brain,” Crook said she was told by the doctor.
Cutie the cat was given pain medication and stabilized overnight before being transferred to Shellard Lane Animal Hospital the following morning, where she underwent surgery, Crook said.
3 pellets remain inside cat’s body
She said doctors were able to successfully remove Cutie’s right eye and four of the pellets. The remaining three pellets could not be removed because of a risk of additional health issues and damage.
Two of the remaining pellets are in her skull while the third is in her chest.
Crook said the family was referred to the Ontario Vet Clinic in Guelph, and the team there, after seeing Cutie, said it was better to leave the three pellets inside her.
According to Crook, getting Cutie the medical care that she needs “was very costly,” and the family could not have afforded it without the help of the community.
The cost to save Cutie so far stands at $8,000 and is expected, Crook says, to reach $10,000 when they get the final bill.
“It was a lot more costly than we could have afforded on our own. As Brant Norfolk had told me what had happened, when I got home that evening, the first thing I did was start a GoFundMe because I didn’t know what else to do,” she said.
“We had a few credit cards and we already had a previous outstanding loan … we didn’t have a lot. Being a family, we had a budget that we kind of had to set and I couldn’t go too far over it without putting our family into big debt.
“But the public really came through and helped, [as well as] a lot of friends and family. And the fact that Cutie’s such a gentle cat made it a lot easier.”
The GoFundMe campaign for Cutie has so far raised more than $4,300 of its $10,000 goal.
“We’d like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We couldn’t have saved her without everybody’s help. We wouldn’t have been able to do what we did without the help of everybody and the vets and all the vet techs,” Crook said.
“It’s been great to be on the receiving end of kindness. I try and help out with rescues when I can and donating when I can and it’s really great … that so many people were able to step up and help. Some of them were complete strangers I’ve never met. We’re gonna repay every act of kindness that we can in any way we can.”
Police investigating cat’s shooting
Meanwhile, Ontario Provincial Police say its Norfolk County branch is investigating the shooting and is seeking the public’s help.
Anyone with information is being asked to call at 1-888-310-1122. Calls can also be made anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2222-TIPS.
People making donations have also been sharing words of kindness on the GoFundMe page.
“It breaks my heart to see any animal treated in such a horrific way,” Patrice Clarkson wrote.
Terra Wilton wrote, “I’m sorry for what your family is going through.”
Lizz Wilson wrote, “You got this Cutie! Your whole family is excited to have you back home. You’re in the best of care ❤️”
