Shot cat spends 10 days dragging herself home on badly injured leg

Monday, 15 January 2018

Penelope de Boer on how Jemima may need to have her injured right leg amputated, after the shot damaged her nerves.

Jemima the cat is clearly a born survivor.

She had a tough start to life after being dumped as a kitten, and now she's survived 10 days on her own with a badly injured leg after someone shot her.

Jemima, an SPCA rescue cat, was taken in by Penelope and Bill de Boer on their small farm outside Martinborough about three years ago, but mysteriously vanished about December 28.

Penelope de Boer was amazed and relieved when Jemima turned up after being missing for 10 days.

The de Boers, who have had six other cats disappear without trace over the past six years, assumed they would never see her again.

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The de Boers have a small farm outside Martinborough, where they keep a range of animals and run farm tours.

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SPCA rescue cat Jemima probably watched as the rifle was aimed straight at her, a vet believes.

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To their astonishment and joy, Jemima turned up on January 7, wounded but alive, dragging her front right leg as though it was broken.

Penelope de Boer thought she must have broken her leg. But a vet couldn't find anything wrong with her leg, and so decided to X-ray.

'It was then they found the bullet wound,' Penelope said. 'Entry and exit had healed enough so that we hadn't noticed it.

'The X-ray showed the bullet had destroyed the nerves in her shoulder and actually chipped the top of her sternum off.

'She is incredibly lucky to be alive. What I can't believe is that whoever shot her just left her to die.

'Even if she was a feral cat, there are humane ways to do things. No animal should have to die in such a painful manner.'

De Boer said she hated to think how their other missing cats might have died over the past few years, after seeing the ordeal that Jemima went through.

'We initially contacted police but, because the bullet passed through Jemima, they were unable to proceed with an investigation.'

Vetcare Masterton's Naya Brangenberg said Jemima was extraordinarily lucky to survive because, if the bullet had been an inch to the left or up or down, it would most probably have killed her.

From the nature of the wound, it looked as if she was sitting observing the person who shot her, she said.

'It chipped her sternum and passed through a very important bundle of nerves. Depending on how she recovers, we may have to do surgery.'

Senior Sergeant Mike Sutton said any incident involving a firearm was a concern, and the cruelty aspect was also a reason to look at the incident closely.

'We have taken notice of this and, if we get more information, we could proceed further with an investigation.'