A cat was shot in my neighborhood. I don’t know who shot it. Maybe someone on Laurel Avenue, maybe someone on Peachtree.

Or, maybe the cat ventured too close to Liberty Road and someone shot it there.  All I know is that the cat showed up on my porch Sunday afternoon.

My nephew and I noticed the cat when I was leaving to take him home. We both commented on how thin the cat looked.

When I got back, I looked out my dining room window (so as not to frighten the cat away) to check on it.

It was trying to eat cat food but was having lots of trouble. The right side of its face looked really strange so I opened my door to the porch.

The cat immediately came inside. I reached down to see what was wrong with it and saw a bullet hole in its head. Just below its eye. The cat was nothing but skin and bones.

I frantically began trying to get in touch with my vet.  A few minutes later, Kim from Natchez Vet Clinic called me and said she would meet me at the clinic.

She confirmed that the cat had been shot and was basically starving to death.

You see, the bullet had apparently exited its mouth, taking out all the cat’s teeth in the process. The right side of it’s face was all fractured beneath the bullet wound.

Scar tissue had formed so the wound was days old. There was nothing that could be done to save the cat — it would never have survived surgery. So the cat was mercifully put to sleep.

I understand that some people do not like cats. I understand they can get in your flower gardens. I understand that, if they have not been “fixed,” they will produce more kittens.

But I also understand that if people would only take care of their pets by getting them neutered or spayed, there would not be stray kittens and cats looking for someone to take care of them.

The Bible says in Genesis 1:26 that God gave us dominion over the animals.

We are not to mistreat them or shoot them or abuse them. We are to take care of them.

And, if you cannot take care of them, please take them to the Humane Society.  Or call animal control. As much as I hate it, euthanization is much more merciful.

Yes, a cat was shot in my neighborhood.  Not killed — shot.

I am sure the person meant to kill it. But he or she didn’t.

So this once beautiful, fluffy, pale yellow cat suffered for days until it ended up on my porch.

I just want people to know what happened, and that there is a better way.

Lee Willard

Natchez resident