Family cat survives being shot with arrow

John Harper wwltv.com Credit: Houma Courier Kenneth Roberts of Houma provided this photo of his cat, Ezra, before and after the arrow was removed at a veterinary hospital. The cat was expected to go home Tuesday. Kenneth Roberts went home on his lunch break Friday to find something no pet owner ever wants to see: his 9-month-old cat, Ezra, sitting on a chair with a hunting arrow through its coat. “I did a double or triple take,” Roberts said. “I couldn't believe it was an arrow. He just gave me this sad look, like, get this thing out of me.” The arrow passed through the skin along the right side of Ezra's body, entering above his shoulder and exiting near his chest. Roberts rushed Ezra to a veterinary hospital, where vets were able to safely remove the arrow. “The vet told me that, thankfully, the arrow wasn't barbed or serrated,” Roberts said. “They were able to remove it. They said he was very lucky because the arrow only went under the skin and didn't pierce any main arteries or even veins.” Roberts, who lives in Gray, then called the Lafourche Parish Sheriffs Office. “I asked the cop and he said, yeah, well once the cop starts looking around, people are going to try to hide stuff. Right now nobody knows who shot your cat. If it was a child who did it, the parents are probably not going to reveal that,” Roberts said. Roberts said a shot from a pellet gun shattered his bathroom window the week prior. Roberts said he has his suspicions. “I just want to have a better idea before I go to the police with names.” Shooting deadly weapons at animals can be considered a felony, according to Jeff Dorson, director of the Louisiana Humane Society. In this case, because the animal is likely to recover, Dorson said the case probably would be classified as a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in prison. “Unfortunately this is all too common,” Dorson said. “Kids shoot domestic animals with arrows, pellet guns, rifles, anything they can get their hands on. They think its fun, amusing ... its horrific. We get these types of calls on a routine basis.” The Humane Society is in the process of campaigning in a LaPlace neighborhood where multiple cats have been shot with pellet guns, Dorson said. “A lot of times it's youth or juvenile hunters who are using the animals for practice,” Dorson said. “The few times we've caught the perpetrators that has often been the case.” It isn't easy to trace the source of the shooters' weapons, Dorson said, and most cases go unresolved, leaving the owners with thousands of dollars in medical bills. The veterinarian's office expects to release Ezra Tuesday, Roberts said, but the cat will have to remained crated and on medication for at least two more weeks. to read more: wwltv.com