PLYMOUTH, Pa. — Three weeks after a stray kitten was found shot in Luzerne County, another is found in the same community with a similar wound.
Cassandra Thomas and her family say they rescued their two-year-old cat named Spot and raised him since he was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Now they're praying for a recovery after they say he was shot on Monday.
Cassandra Thomas says her indoor cat Spot was let outside of their Vine Street home in Plymouth by mistake and came home with what she thinks is a bullet or pellet wound.
"It's touch-and-go right now. They said within 24 hours is critical for him, so we're kind of just watching him and hoping and praying that, you know, everything is OK. It's my son's cat," Thomas said.
Thomas took the cat to the animal hospital in Plains Township, but because of the pandemic, she says she doesn't have the money to get the cat the help it needs. While the family tries to get the money together, they are praying for the recovery of the cat they rescued two years ago.
"I set my alarm just to bottle feed it, you know? So it's kind of like family. It's definitely family. It grew with us," Thomas said.
Thomas says she filed a report with Plymouth police, but officers told her there is not much they can do unless someone is caught in the act, or unless that bullet or pellet is removed from the cat and used as evidence.
"Go out there and shoot it, it's horrible, like, you know? It's not only cats but any dog and animal, it's defenseless, you know? You have us humans trying to protect it, so for someone to just go out here and shoot an animal, and this is an ongoing problem in Plymouth."
Three weeks ago, a stray kitten named Bean was shot not too far away in Plymouth on Eno Street. That kitten is still in recovery, and Veterinarian Dr. Inayat Kathio of the Pittston Animal Hospital is still offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.
"Never ends. I moved here thinking it's a nice street, you know? Like, I could raise my children here. They're stealing chickens. They're shooting cats, like, what's next, you know? And again, my kids were outside, walking the neighborhood looking for the cat. Now, if my kids are walking the neighborhood and you're shooting BB guns, what happens? 'Well, I'm sorry, I shot your kid.' Like, that's not acceptable," Thomas said.
Dr. Kathio has agreed to help the family and see what he can do to Spot. If you have any information about who shot either cat in Plymouth, you are asked to contact police.