HILLSDALE, Mich. — A local family cat might be down to eight lives after being shot in the leg last week.
Up until last week, Punkin was a normal, four legged-cat who enjoyed the occasional adventure outside.
"It's pretty messed up for someone to shoot a household animal. People can understand it's a cat's nature to go outside. I mean, obviously now I'm going to keep him inside," his owner Grace Gilbert said.
Gilbert says she let her cat out last Tuesday night, and when she opened her door a few hours later, she was horrified by what she saw.
"His arm was just hanging there. Like dragging."
She says her and her mom took Punkin the cat to the vet. That's when the vet showed them the damage on an X-ray.
"And his elbow is just completely shattered. They couldn't put it back together. There was no way of that. She points at these two weird white pieces that are in and she's like 'these are bullet fragments.' Like she didn't just tell us our cat was shot. She showed us the bullet fragments. And I just started crying," Gilbert said.
The vet said there was no saving Punkin's leg, so they were forced to amputate it, leading to a vet bill of almost $1,000. Today, Punkin is adjusting to his new life with three legs, but is doing better. Gilbert says she just hopes whoever is responsible comes forward, or stops hurting animals.
"I was sad for him. I imagined he was in pain. I was also angry. He's like my family," Gilbert said shaking her head, "I don't understand why someone would do that."
The Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office said they have not had any reports of other animals being shot.
Attempted murder of an animal is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
