Stray Cat Shot With Arrow in New Jersey Recovers and Finds a Home

We love cats, even when they attack us, but we won’t stand for this kind of animal cruelty.

In North Bergen, New Jersey on January 12, Kelly Shannon was out feeding some local feral cats when her favorite one, Sparky, showed up with an arrow lodged completely through him.

Fortunately, like other injured rescued cats, Sparky recovered — and even found a home!

Shannon told New York television station WABC she found Sparky in an alleyway and took him, with her neighbor, to The Animal Clinic of Bayonne where veterinarians thankfully reported that no vital organs were pierced.

In fact, officials say that Sparky was likely facing the shooter before they shot him in his left shoulder area — which exited through his left flank and remained. The investigation is underway to catch the animal abuser.

At the hospital, Sparky was treated, neutered and received all his vaccinations. He was also tested for feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus. And, funding was made possible thanks to the GoFundMe page called Help for Sparky raised over $2,500 in four days.

“Sparky is doing well,” campaign organizer Maria Ware Appleby told Your Daily Dish. “The impact has been a bit overwhelming.”

He remains hospitalized for just a day or two longer before Shannon personally drives Sparky all the way to Champaign, Illinois to live with the woman who adopted him – Appleby herself!

“I’m so proud of Kelly,” said Appleby. “And I’m so pleased that people care.”

Shannon told Your Daily Dish that she couldn’t keep Sparky because she had a cat (that is sick) already and none of her friends, family or neighbors wanted Sparky but Appleby did and was someone “she trusted.”

Going forward, Shannon hopes people will spread the word of the Trap-Neuter-Return program to their local officials so the pet population in all communities is reduced – which not only cuts costs but potentially prevents future incidents like this from happening.

“Animals are living beings and deserve to be treated as such,” Shannon told Your Daily Dish.