Kitten Lucky To Be Alive, Tail Amputated After Vicious Attack

Buster, an orange and white 8-month-old kitten, is lucky to be alive after surviving a horrifying attack near his home in Norwich, England that caused him to have to have his tail amputated.

His owner, Amanda Hopkinson, found him slumped and unmoving in a garden near his home after the attack, which took place on March 10. She rushed him to the vet, where an examination of the kitten found that he had a hand print on his skin, “as if squeezed with a lot of pressure.” The lucky injured-but-alive kitten also had to have his tail amputated, as it had been dislocated in the attack, likely from having been swung around by it.

Ben Kirby, an inspector with the RSPCA, said they are looking for anyone who may have information on the “despicable” attack.

“This was a despicable attack on a little kitten and would have caused great suffering. Whatever happened it must have been extremely frightening for the kitten and upsetting for the owners. Buster is lucky to be alive.”

Of the attack, Hopkinson lamented that Buster, who used to “purr like a motorbike,” doesn’t purr as much since the attack. “Buster has the sweetest nature. He is the kindest, warmest, soppiest cat I’ve ever met. It’s incomprehensible that someone has done this to him.”

The attack on Buster is only the most recent in a spate of animal attacks taking place in England. On March 20, The Mirror reported on another cat lucky to be alive after having been shot in the face with an air rifle. Max, a black and white tom owned by Sadie Pate of Egham, came home with what Pate thought was a tick on his face, but upon further inspection, realized it was an air pellet, according to Kristina Kirk, a veterinary surgeon from Runnymede Hill Veterinary Hospital where Max was treated.

“The owner thought it was a tick on its face but it was another air gun pellet embedded in the tissue. It is unusual to find so many and does beg the question as to how does this person get to these animals so closely. We have let people know to be vigilant and check their cats when they come home at night.”

Max is the second of two cats brought into Runnymede Hill to be treated for injuries caused by an air rifle. It has also been reported that the dead bodies of a swan and a coot have been found, who suffered the same kind of abuse as the cats, only they weren’t as lucky.

Chief executive of Leatherhead-based Wildlife Aid, Simon Cowell, said of the attacks “It is sad how ignorant people are with guns. They are becoming more frequent, it is tragic people have that mentality. You could go and hurt a person next – it is a small step.”

Max and Buster are lucky to be alive, but the next cats might not be. Do you think stricter penalties should be put in place and enforced for perpetrators of animal abuse?

[Image Credits: BBC, and The Mirror]