WEST VIRGINIA -- The owner of a cat that was seriously injured by an arrow last week said she believes the attack was deliberate.
Tammy Jackson, who operates a 30-acre animal farm on state Route 8 south of Chester, said she was told by a veterinarian and law enforcement that the animal likely was attacked at close range.
“Less than 20 feet away,” Jackson said.
The attacker probably was looking down on the cat and shot it between the eyes, she said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Jackson said. “I was just sick.”
Hancock County authorities are investigating the attack as a case of animal cruelty and are advising residents to be watchful of their pets. Sheriff Ralph Fletcher said Tuesday there were no new developments in the case.
Jackson discovered the injury around 4 p.m. Oct. 15 while she was freshening the straw for her lambs. The cat, named Creamsicle, was coming toward the barn and looked like it was carrying something, she said.
“I thought, ‘What’s he carrying down the hill?’ I didn’t know what it was,” she said.
When she looked closer, Jackson saw that a blue arrow had pierced its forehead and was exiting its jaw. She said the arrow was the kind used for target practice, not for hunting. Bow season in West Virginia opened on Sept. 27.
Jackson rushed the cat to the Chester Veterinary Clinic, 2049 Lincoln Ave., where Dr. Eric Dougherty saved the cat’s life by removing the arrow. The cat currently is on antibiotics and painkillers and is scheduled to have surgery Nov. 3 to have its eye removed.
“The staff there (at Chester Veterinary Clinic) did wonders. They saved him. I’m so thankful,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she has had the cat for two years. Like so many of the other stray and abandoned cats she has on her farm, Creamsicle and another cat named Marmalade wandered onto her property together one day, she said.
The cat used to be friendly, but now all it does is eat and hide, she said.
“It’s scared of everything – people, other animals,” she said.
On Tuesday, Jackson retrieved the animal but had difficulty holding onto it. It squirmed in her arms as she described the attack. A wound is clearly visible on its forehead, and its right eye is red.
Jackson operates the farm with Terry Virden and makes it available for tours and fundraisers.
The second annual FARMOJO event, a fundraiser for the Team Mojo Foundation, was held at the farm on Oct. 5.
In addition to cats, Jackson has dogs, chickens, sheep, goats, rabbits, two mini-donkeys, a mini-horse, a horse and a potbelly pig.
“Everything here was either given to us or dropped off,” she said. “I’m soft-hearted. … I love all of them.”
Jackson is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the attack.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s department at (304) 564-3911 or submit it anonymously through Tip411.
(Weirton Daily Times - October 22, 2014)
