Sharon Hunter with Valentine, who still has an air rifle pellet lodged in her skull. Photo / Chris Loufte
Sharon Hunter with Valentine, who still has an air rifle pellet lodged in her skull. Photo / Chris Loufte
Nine-month-old burmese may not survive skull injury from air rifle.
A 9-month-old kitten is facing an uncertain future after she was shot three times with an air rifle.
X-rays revealed burmese kitten Valentine had two pellets embedded in her tiny body - one on nerves in her skull and one on her spine.
A third pellet had shattered around herleft eye, causing the cut that alerted owner Sharon Hunter something was wrong.
The fragmented pellet and the one on Valentine's spine were removed at a cost of about $500 on Friday, but the pellet on her skull needs specialist neurosurgery. If it cannot be removed, the kitten will lose her ability to eat and will have to be put down.
Hunter has reported the incident to police, spoken to the SPCA and posted leaflets around her Avondale home, offering a $100 reward for information.
"I'm not a person who cries. This made me cry and it made me angry," she said. "She is the cutest, sweetest little kitten. She was playing in the summer sun, doing no harm to anybody."
Valentine was on strong pain medication and was now comfortable, but was in distress when Hunter discovered the wound about 8pm on Thursday. "The poor little creature. She must've been in so much pain. Imagine your eye having sharp things piercing it."
Hunter initially did not realise her kitten had been shot. X-rays the following day revealed the cause of Valentine's pain.
The mum-of-three will consult an animal neurosurgeon this week to plan a second operation - expected to cost several thousand dollars - to remove the remaining pellet.
"I'd do anything for my beloved animals. I've got the ability to pay that money but some people don't have that ... it concerns me that there is someone of limited brain capability in this area."
Her vet had already told her Valentine's left eye drainage and tear ducts had been damaged, but the impact on the kitten's sight was not yet known.
She was determined to bring the perpetrator to justice, Hunter said.
Information received from publicity about Valentine's plight would be passed on to the police and Hunter would "go all the way" to court if needed. "I'll pay for a lawyer, anything. You picked the wrong person to do this to."
