Workman shovels injured cat into bushes
Published 1 Apr 2011 08:25
6 Comments
A DUNFERMLINE paramedic has spoken of her horror at seeing a workman scoop up an injured cat with a shovel and toss it into bushes at the side of the road.
And it's believed the young moggie was twice a victim of animal cruelty as her initial injuries were probably the result of being thrown from a car.
The cat, named Beezer by veterinary staff from Inglis who treated her, was "lucky to be alive" and may have suffered permanent damage to a leg.
Vet Megan Wood said, "It would have been bad enough if it was deliberately injured by someone but to be scraped off the road with a shovel and tossed aside was dreadful.
"I can't believe anyone could be so cruel."
Juliette Blair, of Dunfermline, saw the injured cat being dumped into undergrowth at the side of the main road near Oakley in the early hours of 20th March.
The paramedic was on her way home from her work with the Scottish Ambulance Service in Stirling when she encountered a bus and a white van stopped on the road.
She saw someone shine a torch at the cat and looked on in horror as, while others watched, a man shovelled it up and threw it into undergrowth.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Juliette.
"I got out of my car and ran towards them.
"I don't know if they thought I was a police officer, because I was wearing high-visibility clothing, but they scarpered.I was really upset.
"The cat was moving, so the man who tossed it away with a shovel knew very well that it was still alive."
Juliette, an animal lover who owns three cats, took the wounded moggie to Inglis' animal hospital in Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, where Megan treated it.
The vet said, "It was in a pretty bad way.
"It was virtually unconscious, she had a gash on her face, a massive haemorrhage on one of her eyes and her right foreleg was badly damaged.
"But she did not have shredded claws, which are usually the tell-tale signs that a cat has been hit by a car.
"I can only conclude that the cat had either been kicked about by someone or had been thrown from a car onto the road.
"This poor animal suffered horribly and she is lucky to be alive."
The cat, which is about eight-months-old and has been named Beezer by staff at Inglis, had not been micro-chipped so the vets had no means of tracing its owner.
It is recovering well but Megan fears its leg had been permanently damaged.
Luckily there's a happy ending - and a new name - for Beezer as Juliette decided to adopt the little cat and called her Tigger.
She said, "I used to work for the Cats Protection League when I was younger and didn't want them to have to pay for Beezer's treatment so I'm going to pay for it.
"It may cost me a few shifts in overtime but I don't care, I just love animals.
"She's a beautiful wee cat, even after everything she's been through she's never hissed or bitten but even if she had, I'd still have wanted her to go to a loving home."
The SSPCA has been informed of what is the latest in a string of cruelty incidents involving cats in West Fife.
The Press recently reported on a cat having made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the face with an air gun at point-blank range.
And in November last year there were concerns that cats in Inverkeithing had been poisoned deliberately by anti-freeze.
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
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******
Apr 1, 14:29
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tidybaws
Unregistered User
Apr 1, 14:37
Report commentthats a shockin hing to say tea for 2! ppl like that make me sick there is no need for it whatso ever
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******
Apr 1, 16:24
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******
Apr 1, 16:54
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******
Apr 1, 16:57
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jan the man
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Apr 1, 19:16
Report commentwent looking for cats today---ok it was a cat scan
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security dave
Unregistered User
Apr 1, 22:50
Report commentto all who believe this story its a lot of rubbish i was the guy with the torch.
the cat was found crawling around on the road don't get me wrong using a shovel was a bad idea but the van driver didn't have anything else to use and the cat was not slung in the bushes it was put at side of road on pavement and crawled into the bushes no one there other than myself had anything to do with the coal mine they were just passers by so the incident has nothing to do with us.
if the police would like a statement i am on site from 7 pm till 7 am
site security
scottish coal
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******
Apr 2, 13:30
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Big Jock Knows
Unregistered User
Apr 2, 13:34
Report comment@ security dave, so why if the cat was moving did you all decide to leave it at the side of the road? that is pretty much just leaving it to die! that alone should be a crime. Why didnt none of you 3 or 4 guys even think to try and get it to a vets? i am sickened by this you should all be ashamed, poor little thing was in a whole load of pain and you lot just crowded around and stared at it
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cat lover
Unregistered User
Apr 2, 20:37
Report commentJuliette, Tigger is very lucky you saw what happened and took her to the vet. Hope she lives a long and happy life when she goes home with you.
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******
Apr 2, 20:53
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Tin Whisker
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Apr 4, 06:49
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May 31, 00:52
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