Huntsville Forester

BURK’S FALLS – An Armour Township couple is trying to find a home for a cat they found shot with an arrow.

Aila Schnitzler didn’t know what to make of a cat crossing Pickerel and Jack Lake Road with something that appeared to be protruding from its body when she first caught sight of it, the night of Wednesday, Aug. 8.

She knew, had she been able to stop, she would not be able to find it in the dark.

The next morning she spoke with a neighbour who had seen a cat with an arrow through its neck. During her morning walk with her husband Hans and their two dogs they searched for the cat.

“We spotted the cat sometime later and it was really in distress,” she said.

The animal was timid and would run when they tried to go near it. They finally caught the cat and took it to a veterinarian in Sundridge.

“He said he’d never seen anything like that,” said Schnitzler. “I think cats really have nine lives because it didn’t hit any vital organs or the spinal cord.”

The arrow, which Schnitzler says is about 50 cm long, pierced the animal all the way through.

The cat was sedated and the veterinarian removed the arrow.

The following Saturday, the couple reported the incident to the police.

Schnitzler says she is hoping the person responsible for shooting the cat with an arrow is caught and forced to compensate her the $647 incurred in veterinary costs.

According to Almaguin Highlands OPP Community Services Officer Louise Maki, the Ontario SPCA is now involved and the matter is under investigation.

Schnitzler says the cat, which she and her husband have named Arrow, is already making good progress with recovery.

She says it seems the cat was starving for weeks and is now wolfing down food despite being on antibiotics.

The cat is clearly no stranger to hardship and is missing an eye.

Arrow is a very friendly cat and the couple are hoping to find it a loving home. They are unable to keep the cat with seven of her own plus two large dogs and health issues to contend with.

“We are willing to give it to a very, very good home,” she says. “Once he is back to normal he will be a pretty one except for his one eye.”

Schnitzler says she suspects an elderly neighbour who looked after many strays until he passed away originally cared for the cat.

“He is just so friendly. He is purring and eating and rubbing his head against my leg,” she said. “He would make a really nice pet.”

She says after the torture Arrow has gone through she would like to ensure he gets a good home.