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The co-founder of an Etobicoke animal rescue said they’ve never received a cat struck by an arrow until one was handed over on Monday night to them from the caregiver of a feral cat colony in Hamilton.
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But Max the cat, believed to be between seven and nine years old, didn’t make it through surgery on Tuesday at a Mississauga vet clinic.
“We see cats that have been injured outside due to animals or being hit by cars, we get the odd case of neglect. The arrow — that is a first for us,” said Lori Waters of Home at Last Rescue, which had been raising funds (last count $7,000) for Max’s surgery and care.
“Honestly, just based on the comments, (the overwhelming response to the fundraiser) was just the fact that, ‘How could somebody do this to a poor cat?’ Like, ‘What kind of person thinks it’s acceptable to shoot a cat with an arrow? It’s actually a crossbow, from what I understand. Who does that? It’s just so sad. This poor cat, who’s already facing the rough life on the streets … gets shot with an arrow and then he died. It’s just so heartbreaking.”
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Waters said the colony’s caregiver, Maria Anastasopoulos, noticed Max had been shot in his neck and spent three or four days trying to catch him for treatment before finally doing so on Monday night.
“A lot of the neighbours had noticed that he had been shot with the arrow,” said Waters. “And apparently it’s not the first time it’s happened. There was another one in May in the colony (who survived), there was a squirrel. I believe (Hamilton Police) have been investigating this for some time now. I would think at least since May, when the first one happened.”
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The arrow caused too much internal damage and Max’s heart stopped during surgery, according to the rescue.
Waters said any extra money raised for Max will go toward another cat rescued from Hamilton Animal Services on Wednesday morning.
“She is about 12 weeks old and has a gaping abscess in her neck. We have named her Maxine in Max’s memory and will be using some of the remaining funds to cover her vet bills.”
Waters said they’re also going to help pay to trap, neuter and release a few other colony cats for Anastasopoulos and she is going going to trap Max’s brother and they will pay for his neutering and vaccines.
A query to Hamilton Police was not immediately answered.
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