A North Vancouver kitty is lucky to be alive after being shot in the back at point blank range.
West 16th Street resident Jennifer Hill received word around 5:30 p.m. June 24 that her 14-month-old cat Ozzie had been hurt.
“My son ran out and found Ozzie dragging himself by his front paws up the walkway between our two houses and trying to get home,” Hill said.
Hill raced Ozzie to Delbrook Animal Hospital thinking he’d maybe been attacked by one of the eagles that lives in nearby Mahon Park. But the X-rays showed something far worse.
“They called and said ‘You’re not going to believe this but we found a pellet, a bullet effectively, in his back against his spine and we’ve got to operate right now or it’s game over,’” Hill said.
Ozzie made it through the surgery but was paralyzed from the point of injury. Hill was left to wait over the weekend to see if Ozzie would regain any sensation or ability to move his hind legs and tail. Without any improvement, he would have to be put down.
By Monday, Ozzie was showing some signs of weak movement and feeling, Hill said.
“He’s getting more sensation so we’re pretty excited actually. It’s hard to know if it’s a good sign or not but he is starting to be able to move his legs a little. We’re crossing our fingers,” she said.
Now Hill and her family are left to wonder who would do such a thing. Her neighbourhood has plenty of cats who have spent years roaming between yards. Ozzie and his brother and littermate Atticus tend to keep close to their own home, she said.
“The vet is certain that he was lying down and someone shot him at point-blank range,” she said. “It’s infuriating. It’s utterly cruel . . . . It’s so beyond upsetting that someone would do this to a little kitty.”
Police and the SPCA both told Hill that it’s almost always teenage boys who aren’t thinking about what they’re doing in cases like this.
Hill said she is considering going to her MLA to discuss a potential ban on pellet guns.
“You honestly have to wonder how it is that we are allowing people to buy pellet guns, which are guns — guns capable of killing small animals or causing serious injury,” she said.
At the very least, Hill said she hopes “moron parents” will reconsider buying pellet guns for their kids.
North Vancouver RCMP sent an officer to canvass the neighbourhood for witnesses or surveillance camera footage but had no luck, according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
“There were no suspects or witnesses found by us,” he said. “It is disturbing and the file remains open if anyone wants to come forward or if we can find something, but . . . there’s not much we can do at this point from an investigative point of view.”
While pellet guns are perfectly legal to purchase in Canada, there are bylaws prohibiting their use.
“It’s still considered a firearm and you can’t discharge them in city limits,” De Jong said.
De Jong said the case seems to be a one-off as no other incidents have been reported.
In 2012, an Edgemont area cat was paralyzed after being wounded by a pellet gun.
Cases like this do happen from time to time said Eileen Drever, senior animal protection officer with the SPCA, and so the organization doesn’t recommend allowing pets to roam.
“Not everybody loves cats or likes cats for that matter and I just wouldn’t want to put a cat in that position,” she said. “I would say it’s best to keep them indoors if at all possible. That way you are protecting them.”
