Suspect sought after a kitten was shot in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Animal law enforcement is asking for help with tracking down the person who shot a kitten in Colorado Springs, likely at point-blank range.

The shooting left the 9-month-old kitten with serious injuries that require surgery. Click here to give to a GoFundMe account set up to help the animal.

11 News spoke to the kitten’s owner, Nichole Marcus. Marcus has been on and off the phone with veterinarians for the past 24 hours. Her cat, Oreo, was shot by someone in the leg in the Briargate neighborhood near Powers Boulevard and Research Parkway.

“Whoever did this had to know that it was a kid’s cat, and it was not very old,” Marcus explained.

Oreo is kept inside, but like many cats, he is a bit of an escape artist. Oreo darted out of the house on Monday. Soon after the family started their search for Oreo, they made a disturbing discovery. Oreo was found bleeding, on the ground, right outside their back door. The family rushed the kitten to the vet.

“They found that it was a bullet wound and when they did the X-rays they could see that the bullet was still in there, they identified it as a .22 caliber, and judging from how fractured... it couldn’t have come from very far away,” Marcus added.

The kitten’s leg will likely have to be amputated. The search for the person who pulled the trigger continues.

“Talk to your neighbor if you have a problem,” Marcus said as a message to the shooter. “But don’t just take it into your own hands and do something so cruel because it’s not just the animal, it’s the whole family.”

Depending on the situation, the shooter could face a misdemeanor up to a felony charge of cruelty to animals; however, a felony would be likely in this case according to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.