KAILUA-KONA — A national animal rights group is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who paralyzed a cat in Kailua-Kona with a hunting arrow.
KAILUA-KONA — A national animal rights group is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who paralyzed a cat in Kailua-Kona with a hunting arrow.
The cat was discovered last month on the side of Makala Boulevard near the main entrance to Target.
It was put down a short time later.
“This cat surely endured immense terror and agony when he was shot with an arrow and left, paralyzed and bleeding, on the side of the road,” said PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien in a statement.
The cat, an 8-pound tabby and white male, had a 2-foot hunting arrow through its body, causing entry and exit wounds.
The Hawaii Island Humane Society’s shelter manager said she received a call about the cat in the early morning hours of Dec. 20.
The cat, said shelter manager Roxy O’Neal at the time, was “otherwise perfectly healthy.” It didn’t have any identification indication ownership.
O’Neal added that she later made the decision to euthanize the cat, saying there was “no good prognosis” for the animal.
Hawaii Police Department Capt. Randal Ishii said an officer who responded to the call initiated a cruelty to animals investigation.
As of this time, however, he said there were no further leads to pursue, but that they would welcome any tips from the public that could lead to the arrest of the person or people responsible.
On Friday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a reward offer of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
PETA campaigner Katerina Davidovich said the group was contacted after the news of the cat’s abuse, which West Hawaii Today reported last week, broke.
Davidovich said they “receive dozens of calls a day” about reported abuse nationwide and often offer rewards when they believe can incentivize someone to come forward with information that could help law enforcement.
She said the organization’s offer of a reward has proven successful in the past, saying the reward has previously encouraged people to come forward and help crack animal cruelty cases.
She encouraged anybody with information about the case to contact the Hawaii Island Humane Society at 808-329-1175.
Ishii added that anybody with information can call police at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID.