FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A cat underwent an emergency medical treatment at a veterinary clinic Monday after it was cruelly shot with a blowgun dart last week.
Veterinarians at Good Karma’s Veterinary Office located in the 3600 block of West Commercial Boulevard worked to determine the best procedure to remove the five-inch dart that was lodged in the cat’s backside.
The well-known community cat was shot in Hallandale last Tuesday, where a Good Karma volunteer has cared for him for seven years.
His injuries were discovered when the volunteer went to feed him and saw him cowering down in a bush and trembling in pain.
“She found him in the bushes and he was hiding and terrified and he wouldn’t come out; she worked for several days to trap him,” said Jodi Daughtry, an employee at the veterinary office.
All efforts to lure him out of his hiding place that night were unsuccessful but he was trapped several days later and brought to the clinic for treatment.
Now this feline is getting a second lease on life after a successful surgery.
The kitten was sedated and his wounds were cleaned before vets took him in for X-rays.
He also received a full medical evaluation, vaccinations, neuter surgery and was microchipped.
Doctors are trying to rise the fur-legged animal’s temperature and wait for him to wake up from the anesthesia.
Medical professionals said they eventually hope to put him up for adoption. They’re also hoping that by sharing this story of rescue and survival they will encourage people to think twice before abusing such a helpless animal.
“It’s really hard for me to understand what goes through a person’s mind when they are doing something like this to an animal. It’s very upsetting to us and honestly it affects how we think of our human brothers and sisters,” said veterinarian Dr. Pete Otovic.
“We’re in it for the love of the animal and when you see somebody who’s suffering, it’s traumatizing for us as a team and it’s traumatizing that the community could do something like this,” said Daughtry.
As of right now, the vet tells 7News they don’t know who did this to the cat but they’re hoping someone will come forward.
If you would like to donate to cover the costs of the cat ongoing recovery, click here.
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