Danella Paterson said she heard a howl from her Beach Haven home on Saturday morning and found her cat “flattened” and unable to move.
“He was howling. Couldn’t move. He was really in a lot of pain.”
Paterson said she initially thought the cat might have been hit by a car, but the attack was accompanied by a threatening note on her front gate which read, “Ur cats are dead n****! [sic]”.
Paterson “freaked out” and went to the vet immediately, where she was told he’d have to have his tail amputated due to the damage.
“[The vet] said after the X-ray, ‘His tail has been yanked from his backside.’”
Nella Paterson's kitten had his tail “completely ripped off his back”.
She gave an update on his condition to the Herald on Monday.
“He’s had more X-rays, blood tests, everything. They’re draining his liver, and they’ll be amputating his tail ... He’s going to survive, they’re just giving him a rest at the moment because he’s been through a lot with the catheter and everything.”
She said the vet believed the cat had been kicked in its stomach in addition to having its tail ripped away.
This incident follows another mysterious injury to her other cat, who struggled to walk after returning home a few months ago.
She suspects the culprit is someone who lives locally.
“I’ve got little children here too, so I don’t really feel safe any more. If they can hurt a cat like that, you know, they could hurt anyone,” she said.
Patterson said she was considering options to prevent any future attacks, including security cameras and animal enclosures to prevent her pets from roaming.
A Givealittle page has raised over $9500 to help pay for her vet bills.
Police said they launched an investigation on Saturday, the day the attack was reported.
They said they have not received any other reports of similar incidents in the area.
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