Given all that he’s been through, Greg Nowak’s newest cat is doing better than his owner expected.
“All he wants is love and attention,” Nowak said Thursday.
“It’s incredible, how he’s adjusted after what he’s been through.”
Nobody seems to know the cat’s real name. At the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society, he was called Baron. Nowak gave him a different name: Survivor.
He was found earlier this month wandering along Shantz Station Road near Breslau, having been shot nine times at close range with a pellet gun.
A veterinarian found that he had seven pellets embedded in his face, and two more in his torso.
“It just broke my heart. I couldn’t believe someone could do something like that,” Nowak said.
After seeing news coverage of the cat’s ordeal, Nowak visited the Humane Society and asked about him. He followed up with calls and emails – something which apparently made him come to mind when it came time to find the cat a new home.
“Dozens of people emailed and called us. Greg really stood out, because he (emailed) us every day,” said Kathy Innocente, the Humane Society’s director of operations.
Two of the pellets found in the cat could not be removed for surgery.
Nowak says he’s been told that everything “seems OK” with leaving those two pellets embedded, but the cat will require regular checkups with a veterinarian to ensure that the situation doesn’t take a turn for the worse.
“I just wanted to give him a second chance,” he said.
As the cat adapts to his new life at Nowak’s home, the investigation into his shooter continues.
Innocente says the Humane Society has “not received one tip” about the situation, which isn’t unusual with cases of animal abuse.
Nowak’s family has offered a $5,000 reward for information that helps the authorities identify the person responsible for shooting the cat.
Any tips can be emailed to cruelty@awasco.ca.
With reporting by Nadia Matos
