Cat SURVIVES after being impaled by thugs who decided to use him for target practice

CONNECTICUT -- Any seasoned politician is prepared to encounter a surprise right before Election Day.

But Mayor Peter Nystrom came across a situation Monday while doing some last minute campaigning that sent him into a rage.

 

He discovered a cat on the porch of a house that had been shot through with a 15-inch fiberglass arrow.

“I was angry. I wanted to hit someone,” Nystrom said about Elliot, the injured 1/-2-year-old catw he found.

He called police, and Animal Control Officer Michele Kellough took the cat to All Friends Animal Hospital, where doctors quickly worked to save him.

Veterinarian Kathleen Tangari, who performed the surgery on Elliot, said the arrow likely had been stuck in him for about two days.

“But the tissue surrounding it started to harden and sealed off the blood vessels,” she said.

That necrosis, coupled with sub-30 degree temperatures, likely prevented Elliot from bleeding to death, Tangari said.

Given the angle of the arrow and its location near Elliot’s heart, officials suspect he was the victim of target practice.

Kellough could not be reached for comment Tuesday about whether city police were launching an investigation into the incident.

Tangari said it’s “very rare” for the hospital to see a wound like that. Medical personnel had to use bolt cutters to release some of the weight of the arrow and then slowly screw the tip of it out of the cat’s body.

Somehow, the arrow avoided any of the cat’s arteries, major organs or spine, and doctors believe he’ll make nearly a full recovery.

“Once we saw the chest cavity wasn’t penetrated, that’s what gave us hope,” Tangari said. “So far, he’s just been our miracle kitten.”

Hospital Administrator Lona Baker-Harrelle said Elliot may have long-term nerve damage to his front limbs, but he’s not expected to remain in the hospital for much longer.

“We’re hoping to be able to send him home by the end of the week,” she said.

By the time Nystrom discovered him, the cat had found his way back to the 6 Gates Road home where he lives and collapsed on the front porch.

“It’s a miracle that arrow missed everything inside of him. That cat was meant to survive, as far as I’m concerned,” Nystrom said.

Elliot’s owner is elderly and disabled, and could not afford to pay for his medical bills after the procedure. So All Friends relied on its “angel fund,” a pool of money from private donors, to cover the costs.

(Norwich Bulletin - Nov 5, 2013)