Netphoria Message Board - Cat shot through eye with dart tranquilizer (slightly disturbing pic inside)!

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from local6.com:
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A stray cat was shot with a tranquilizer dart recently and then left to roam a Kansas City neighborhood.

People in that neighborhood, plus animals lovers and a local veterinarian, are all outraged.

Neighbors who saw it said that it was a Kansas City, Kan., animal control officer who shot the cat.

"Oh, I was horrified. It's horrible. They are just horrible. It went right through the cat's eye and out it's neck," said Debbie Brancato.

A concerned resident near 78th Street and State Avenue called animal control recently after a stray cat had kittens. Aylward reported that the resident never expected that the cat would be shot with a 7-inch ****l tranquilizer dart, only to leave the animal to roam around for a week.

"I want the person who shot this cat held accountable for what he did," Brancato said.

A veterinarian was called over the weekend and helped the cat.

Several X-rays show the damage. A dart, meant for large horses, should have killed the cat instantly, Aylward reported.

"If they would've shot this cat with this dart, no matter where it hit, it would have gone straight through him. The dart is that big," Brancato said.

People all over neighborhood, where where the cat came from, are just as upset. They are nervous about what might happen to other cats and fearful that this one injured animal may not be the only one.

"I want them to see these gruesome pictures ... see what exactly happened, and to encourage us to do something about it as a community," Brancato said.

The deputy chief of police said that an investigation is under way into the incident. He said that if an animal control officer did shoot the cat, it is inappropriate action and goes against every animal control policy and procedure.

The cat lost its eye, and has since been returned to that neighborhood where several residents are hoping to tame it and keep it as their own.

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