CAT survives bow and arrow attack

The second case of animal abuse in Green Country in two days. This time, it's a cat someone shot with a bow and arrow, Monday; it was a dog that had been set on fire. <br><br>KOTV's Lori Fullbright

Tuesday, June 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The second case of animal abuse in Green Country in two days. This time, it's a cat someone shot with a bow and arrow, Monday; it was a dog that had been set on fire.

KOTV's Lori Fullbright says animal cruelty investigators say abuse tends to increase in the summer months. In fact, they've already investigated 226 cases of animal cruelty this year.

Jennifer Rogers found Midnight the cat when he was only a stray kitten; she's taken care of him and raised him for the past year and a half. This week, he needs a little extra attention; he has metal staples in his shoulder where an arrow pierced it. Just below that, is where someone shot him with a BB gun just the week before. Cat owner, Janice Rogers, "In my mind, I just couldn't justify why someone would do it. Why?"

The animal cruelty investigator say the arrow lodged in Midnight's shoulder, after the cat had escaped the house for a few hours Sunday morning. "I really thought I was going to lose him, I didn't want to touch the arrow." Two teenage neighbor boys denied hurting Midnight, but an investigator confiscated their bow and an arrow that matched the one in Midnight, but that wasn't enough to make an arrest. Garl Lee Willis, Animal Control Supervisor: "Just like you have to prove who robbed the bank, you have to have an eye witness or a confession, and we have gotten confessions from people for animal cruelty."

Depending on the severity of the cruelty, the cases can be filed as city misdemeanors that call for steep fines or state felonies that require prison time. There's no end to how people will hurt animals. Willis: "We've had em burned, beat with baseball bats, slammed against a house. A boyfriend got mad so he slammed a dog against the house three times til he killed it." In that sense at least, Midnight is lucky, he survived his injuries and he has a loving family that will nurture him back to health.

Animal cruelty investigators say with more people out in the summer, walking, biking and driving, they tend to get more calls about dogs and cats being injured and ignored. No charges have been filed in Midnight's case.