These shocking images show a tiny kitten that has lost one of its front legs after being shot several times with an air gun.
The incident happened in the area of Schoolwerf in Almere Haven sometime between 9th and 11th of July, according to a statement on Facebook by local police who are appealing for witnesses. (https://bit.ly/3hmTwHp)
They said: “Several pellets were found in the cat. It had to have a leg amputated. The cat is recovering in the meantime and needs to get used to life with a leg less.
“Of course we want to get in touch with the perpetrator and witnesses.
“Who has information for us? Every little bit helps!”
They then gave the contact information for the local station and added: “Photos have been posted with permission from the cat’s owner and she filed a report.”
Owner Samantha Hemelrijk was shown on local TV where she said that her cat, called Bumba, is alive but only just. (https://bit.ly/2CPHA2e)
She said: “She is now recovering. She was always a very active cat, she would climb the tallest trees and was really super fast. Now she can no longer do all of that. She is nervous and reserved, and even when I’m feeding her she shies away.”
Samantha said she realised something was wrong when the cat did not come home for dinner on a Thursday. She was unable to find the cat but then two days later on the Saturday morning when she opened the door she suddenly heard it meowing.
It was only when X-rays were taken that they realised what had happened and that the pellets had torn the bone of the leg in half. It was only held on by some fragments of skin so amputation was the only option.
In the meanwhile, she launched a fundraising campaign to try and raise the 600 EUR (543 GBP) in medical costs and promised to spend some of it on cat treats and pampering for her injured pet. The campaign was then closed when she reached the 600-EUR target. (https://bit.ly/2OKlPTW)
She said she knows of at least two other instances in which cats were shot in the neighbourhood and believes it may be the same person.
Newsflash spoke to one other person who had a cat called Spyker who was three years old and was shot on 22nd June.
Alinda Wolffenbuttel said: “When he walked in our home he was screaming in pain. I didn’t know right away what was going on. I didn’t see a real injury at first sight. He had a little blood on his hind leg. It was only later it was revealed to be the impact wound.
“I took him to the vet in shock, still not knowing what had happened.”
She said after lots of painkillers, vets took an X-ray and then it was revealed that the cat had been shot causing catastrophic injuries.
She said: “When they carried out an operation they found the pellet had gone through the leg and groin and through the stomach and perforated the intestines in several places including destroying the spleen. It was impossible to do anything about that and he had to be put to sleep. The vet’s bills were over 1,000 EUR (905 GBP) by then and still needed to be paid.”
She said that she had also told the police but added: “Where can they start looking? We had no evidence except a dead cat.”
She said she was therefore happy for the media attention and hoped that the police would now be able to find “the monster” responsible.
She added that one of the worst things was having to tell her children aged nine and three that Spyker would never be coming home again.
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