20/09/2024
It's sad we even have to post this! We have a cat at the vet with a close-range pellet injury to the head, It has extensive injuries that required surgery, and it will have a long recovery and some eating issues as the pellet traveled into the palate area from the skull. This was south of downtown, and we assume the person or kid that did this lives in this area. The cat seldom if ever leaves the block. The vet bill will likely be in the $600-1,000 range. So, people please watch your kids, or your crazy neighbor that is shooting at cats. I would say this resulted in a serious injury and the cat would've died without surgery, so that is a felony. Do you get that? It's a felony and a large fine and can result in some substantial jail time. Spread this around and educate your kids and neighbors. We have had it with the animal cruelty that goes on in this town.
Also, this really is not even our cat, it belongs to neglectful owners who keep bringing cats into town, then turning them outside without regard to proper healthcare or care for that matter. This can also be viewed as animal neglect, we shouldn't be the one that had to get the cat to the vet in the first place. We also shouldn't be the one paying to fix your cats. The male cats they turn out go around and spray in the area. I would suggest that they stop bringing cats into town or face possible neglect charges. If you want to know who the neglectful owners are send us a message, I will tell you! Enough is enough. As for who the shooter is that's for the police to handle.
In Nebraska, abandonment or cruel neglect is a Class I Misdemeanor with a fine up to $1000 and/or imprisonment up to one year. If the abandonment or cruel neglect results in serious injury or death of the animal, it is a Class IV felony with a fine up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment up to five years. Cruelty to animals is a Class I Misdemeanor with a fine up to $1000 and/or imprisonment up to one year. A second or subsequent offense is a Class IV Felony. If the cruel mistreatment involves “the knowing and intentional torture, repeated beating, or mutilation of the animal” it is a Class IV Felony. Engagement in any capacity that supports or promotes animal fighting is a Class IV Felony.
Pursuant to R.R.S. Neb. § 28-1008:
Abandon means “to leave any animal in one’s care, whether as owner or custodian, for any length of time without making effective provision for its food, water, or other care as is reasonably necessary for the animal’s health”;
Cruelly mistreat means “knowingly and intentionally kill, maim, disfigure, torture, beat, mutilate, burn, scald, or otherwise inflict harm upon any animal”;
Cruelly neglect means “to fail to provide any animal in one’s care, whether as owner or custodian, with food, water, or other care as is reasonably necessary for the animal’s health”;
Torture means “intentionally subjecting an animal to extreme pain, suffering, or agony”.
I will add a picture of the cat when it gets out of the vets care.