The grape-sized ball bearing embedded itself so deep in the pet’s face that shards of bone were left inside the skull. Even when vets carefully removed the metal ball, the poor creature was left with a huge open wound which has needed patching together like a jigsaw puzzle. After months of treatment and surgery, the black and white moggie has now got a new home and a new name – Lucky.
RSPCA animal cruelty investigators are still hunting the culprit who came within a whisker of killing two year old Lucky last December. Fortunately, a member of public found the badly wounded animal in Throwley, near Faversham, Kent, and could actually hear the air passing through the cat’s nose where the metal ball had impacted and left an open wound.
Although the cat lived up to her new name by not losing all her nine lives in one go, she still had to endure months of treatment at the RSPCA Canterbury branch. Staff initially nicknamed her Angel because she had miraculously survived what they described as a callous and cruel attack.
Beth Hixson, centre manager at the RSPCA Canterbury branch, explained today: “Poor Angel, as we called her, had been shot point blank in the face. The ball bearing was removed but, unfortunately, she still had a few fragments of skull bone in her head but nothing that should cause her any long term damage.”
Ms Hixson continued: “After her surgery, she was doing well and the wound had healed as much as it was going to but she was still left with an open hole which was a concern as she would be susceptible to infections.
“The vets made the decision to give Angel a skin graft to cover the hole and allow it to heal properly. In surgery, they cut a flap of skin from her head and pulled it over the wound to join everything up. She looked a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle when she came out of surgery but it was much better than before.”
Despite having to wear a “collar of shame” while her skin graft healed, Lucky’s only visible sign of her horrific ordeal is a small scab on the top of her nose which will heal in time.
Helping Lucky get back to a life of normality are her new owners David and Pamela Ingram who adopted her two weeks ago. Once her nose has fully healed, she can begin exploring outside her new home near Whitstable, Kent.
Mr Ingram, a retired civil engineering company director, said: “Lucky has come along very well. She’s still got a scab on the bottom of her nose but otherwise, the rest of her has healed really well. She’s got a lot of character, she’s lovely.
“Our previous cat had to be put to sleep because of kidney problems. We had decided we wouldn’t get another cat but we found that we really missed her. Friends had adopted a kitten from the RSPCA recently but we wanted an older cat ideally. When we met her, we knew she was just what we wanted and she’s now become a part of our family.”
RSPCA officers continue to investigate the attack on Lucky. No one came forward at the time of the incident but if anyone does have information they are urged to call the charity’s confidential appeal line on 0300 123 8018.