Akila the Sphynx cat is recovering after an unknown assailant shot her though the head with a crossbow or dart gun. The arrow had to be surgically removed.
A chance outing ended tragically for a hairless cat who ventured outside and almost never made it back inside alive.
The cat is making a miraculous recovery from an overnight ordeal that began Tuesday afternoon, when she went missing near her Riverview, FL home. Wednesday morning, after a chilly night, and several sightings from neighbors, Akila’s owner, Tyra Bulluck, finally found the six year old feline four houses down, hiding in the bushes, with an arrow piercing her forehead.
Fearful and distrustful, she first ran away, but then recognized the familiar voice of Bulluck’s mother, and came running back.
Akila was rushed to the vet, and after being sedated and undergoing a 45 minute surgery, the arrow was successfully removed.
“It was just fortunate that if it had been a millimeter or more that cat would have died,” said Karen Hubby, of the Tampa animal hospital.
Police are searching for the unknown assailant responsible for the heartbreaking attack. They are testing the arrow for fingerprints, and the suspect will face animal cruelty charges.
