Pennsylvania SPCA says cat was shot with arrow in apparent act of cruelty
The Pennsylvania SPCA's Animal Law Enforcement Team is investigating after they said a cat in Philadelphia was shot with an arrow in an apparent act of cruelty.
According to the PSPCA, Kimiko the cat was found near the 2100 block of North 31st Street in Strawberry Mansion. Kimiko lived in a colony, but when her caretaker went to feed her last Thursday, Sept. 19, they said they found the cat in her regular waiting place but with an arrow protruding through her right thigh.
"In an apparent act of cruelty, she had been shot in her hind end. She was suffering," a post by the PSPCA reads in part.
Kimiko was taken to Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency where she was stabilized and taken into the PSPCA's care on Friday, Sept. 20.
"We were fortunate we were able to save the leg and the cat is recovering," Nicole Wilson with the PSPCA said.
PSPCA surgeons removed the arrow, but Kimiko's journey back to full health has just begun. She is currently recovering in the shelter's hospital at PSPCA's Philadelphia headquarters.
"Not only is it senseless, the suffering that that causes. That cat was clearly injured for hours, suffering for hours before somebody was able to find it and bring it to help," Wilson said.
The PSPCA's Animal Law Enforcement is investigating the apparent act of cruelty and working to figure out who was involved. Anyone with information about the person or persons involved in harming Kimiko is asked to contact the PSPCA's cruelty hotline at 866-601-7722 or by emailing cruelty@pspca.org.
"This person clearly severely injured this cat. We don't know that an individual who would make that choice wouldn't make the next choice of potentially injuring a person," Wilson said.
Two similar incidents happened in New Jersey in 2019. The first incident was in January 2019 when a cat was shot with an arrow in Cedarville, New Jersey, and had to undergo surgery. The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office was investigating the incident believed to be a result of animal cruelty.
The second incident was just three months later in April 2019 when a cat was struck and killed with a bow and arrow in Knowlton, New Jersey.
