The owners of a cat living in a residential area of Quebec had the unpleasant surprise of finding it pierced by an arrow early Monday morning.
Vanessa Drouin and Athénaïs Fontaine, who live on Rue Louis-Armand-Desjardins, had not seen Raki for almost 24 hours. They were worried because the little cat wasn’t used to being outside for more than a few hours at a time. At 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, Vanessa Drouin heard him scratching at her cat flap. His partner opened the door.
The arrow actually extended from edge to edge of his body, so it’s a small square [la chatière, NDLR] She couldn’t get in because of the arrow. It was blocking, explains Athénaïs Fontaine in an interview with Radio-Canada.
We were completely shocked! exclaims Vanessa Drouin.
If you let your cat outside, know that something can happen. You know he can get run over. You know he can be poisoned. They know he can be eaten by another animal. On the other hand, you don’t think about getting shot by someone. So it’s not an accident. It is truly a voluntary act.
The two women noticed that the cat had also lost its identification collar with its phone number.
She had never lost it before. “We were wondering if the person who shot him might have kidnapped him,” asks Athénaïs Fontaine.
Surgery to remove the arrow
Raki was taken to the Daubigny Veterinary Center, where it was confirmed that a cat underwent surgery to remove an arrow on Monday.
The owners say the surgery took about two hours and went well, but they won’t know until Tuesday at the earliest whether the cat will suffer any neuromotor sequelae.
They explain that the arrow stuck an inch from the cat’s spine but hit a vertebra. One of the cat’s back legs was weak when she came home, and her owners noticed she was limping badly.
Raki will need to wear a drain and take antibiotics to treat the infection that has developed in the wound.
Owners expect a vet bill of around $6,000.
Report to the police
For its part, the Quebec City Police Department confirms that it received an emergency call in connection with the incident, and the couple says they received a visit from a police officer to file a report. The latter would have gone with the arrow.
The policeman said that it was really an arrow to kill, not a training arrow, says Athénaïs Fontaine.
They have little hope of finding out who is responsible since it appears to be an isolated incident and it is unlikely that it will be possible to determine who bought the arrow in question.
The couple are also parents to a baby and say they are devastated by the events.
There are many people around us who have children and we tell ourselves that if this arrow had not entered our cat and a neighbor’s child was playing outside, it could have hit him too. It could have been dangerous, believes Athénaïs Fontaine.
In a Facebook post, she also warns cat owners, especially when they go outside.
Remember that Section 445 of the Penal Code Amendment (Cruelty to Animals) Act provides for a maximum of five years’ imprisonment for any person who voluntarily and without lawful excuse kills, maims, injures, poisons or mutilates animals. […] Animals that are not farm animals and are kept for a lawful purpose.
Also note that Quebec City’s pet ordinance prohibits owners of pets from allowing them to roam freely.