SILVER LAKE — Jeffery W. Hellem of Silver Lake said a neighbor shot his Bengal cat, but officials say no crime has occurred.
Darren Ullmann, executive director of Humane Society of Cowlitz County, confirmed the cat was trespassing on a neighboring property when the unnamed man, thinking a wild raccoon was attempting to enter his chicken coup, fired upon the domesticated feline.
The neighbor has not been cited or arrested. The neighbor could not be reached for comment.
Ullmann, who once served as undersheriff for the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, said the neighbor was well within his rights to protect his property.
According to Ullmann, a Washington state law dealing with dogs who are “chasing, biting, injuring or killing” farm animals or “domestic animals” also applies to cats.
Ullmann also points toward another state law that grants authority to kill a “wildlife” animal that is “destroying or injuring property.”
Hellem said at about 9 p.m., Feb. 25 he heard his purebred Bengal cat moan in agony as the feline sustained a gunshot wound near its neck.
Veterinary bills have cost Hellem more than $17,000, which covered a blood transfusion, X-rays and surgery. Even as Cheeto recovers, the cat is still in danger of losing a leg, he said.
Cheeto — Hellem calls him his “Christmas kitty” — had a large enough gunshot wound that he said he could “fit his pinkie” inside.
The surgery that followed was complicated: The cat to be “wired” and “screwed” to stay alive as the bullet shattered bones and ripped tissue, Hellem said, adding that the veterinarian said he “never did a surgery (like) this before.”
According to Hellem, the expensive cat had significant blood loss, and Cheeto had to be monitored constantly to prevent amputation.
Hellem is currently building a fence for Cheeto. He said he is disappointed with Animal Control and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office for, as he put it, doing “nothing to help at all.”
Ullmann said Hellem is angry with Animal Control because “we’re not doing what he wants us to do.”
Hellem said he and his wife, Misty, have set up a GoFundMe page to fund raise for an attorney and fence for the cat’s protection.
