Cat shot with an arrow 'likely not an accident,' EPS says

An Edmonton woman has warned pet owners in her neighbourhood after her two-year-old cat Milo came home with an arrow shot through his side.

Amy Collins lives in the Hollick Kenyon area of northeast Edmonton and said Milo went missing New Year's Eve. When he didn't return after a few days, the family posted online and went searching for him around the neighbourhood.

"Still nobody had seen Milo, and that's when I kind of knew that something bad had happened to Milo, because he's a very big people-person."

To her family's delight, the family pet returned Sunday – though his condition left everyone shocked.

"When [my daughter] answered the door, Milo walked in with the arrow through him, still intact," Collins said. "She was happy at first to see Milo, until he walked in and both girls just went ballistic."

"I was pretty stunned." 

Police are investigating after Milo, a two-year-old black cat, was shot with an arrow in northeast Edmonton. (Source: Amy Collins)

Collins said the arrow was loose and the skin around the wound looked stretched. Milo was hitting it on things, and she made the decision to pull it out while she was on the phone with the veterinary clinic.

"It didn't take much, it just fell out," she added.

Milo was taken to the Pulse Veterinary Specialists in Sherwood Park for treatment for the wound, as well as fever and dehydration. He's expected to make a full recovery.

Lisa Thompson, a veterinarian at the clinic, said Milo is fortunate to have survived the attack and the arrow, which hit him just below the spine and didn't damage any major organs.

"Where his arrow went was just millimetres away from large vessels, from his vertebrae. He got very, very lucky," Thompson said Tuesday.

The clinic has seen other animals with similar injuries, Thomspon said, but Milo's case is surprising given how long he survived outdoors with an arrow stuck in his torso.

"This wasn't something that he immediately had this happen and then the family could bring him in," she added. "He was kind of on his own, at least for a bit."

"So he's a remarkable little guy to do that."  Dr. Lisa Thompson points to where an arrow was shot through two-year-old cat, Milo. (Darcy Seaton/CTV News Edmonton)

ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Collins posted a warning to other area pet owners and said the attack on Milo was not the first time that an animal had been intentionally harmed in the area.

It's a criminal offence to intentionally hurt an animal, and the Edmonton Police Service said on Tuesday that the case is under investigation by the Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit (SCIU).

Anyone with information on Milo's shooting is being asked to contact investigators.

Police said they do believe Milo's injuries to be intentional, but aren't sure yet where they occurred.

"It would take quite a bit of force to penetrate a cat's entire body with an arrow," said Sgt. Olena Fedorovich on Wednesday. "The evidence associated to this incident tells us that this is likely not an accident."

Collins said Milo doesn't venture far, and she believes that he was hurt by someone who lives nearby.

"I was absolutely disgusted that somebody around here would do something like that to an animal," Collins said. "For you to do that to an animal you're not well."

Violence against animals in Edmonton is not rare, she added, saying the SCIU has seen an increase in the severity and "maliciousness" of animal cruelty cases over the last few weeks.

"There are so many reasons people commit acts of violence," Fedorovich said. "Often times, unfortunately, there's mental illness. Sometimes there's drug and alcohol addiction. Some people just derive pleasure from inflicting pain on other beings."

In October, a cat was stomped to death by five teenage boys in the nearby neighbourhood of Evansdale. In December, police say residents of a southeast Edmonton neighbourhood found a dead dog with bound paws.

Anyone with information about the attack on Milo can contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a cell phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250. 

The City of Edmonton recommends keeping cats indoors or letting them outside only under supervision to protect them from wildlife and to prevent potential conflicts with neighbours.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Darcy Seaton and Marek Tkach