Cat rescuer Kim St. Pierre is raising funds to help pay the veterinary bill of Chase, a kitten whose front left leg was all but torn off inside the engine of a car.
The 11-week-old kitten was found in the parking lot of the Pacific Inn on Oct. 9 by a hotel guest. That person told Tricia Charlton, the manager on duty, who then called St. Pierre.
St. Pierre, who is known around town for her love of felines and her work to spay and neuter the feral cat population on Kaien Island, went about the task of tracking the kitten down. The two-hour search to find the kitten eventually led her to call it “Chase.”
By Oct. 11, the kitten was with the local vet who amputated the terminally damaged limb. Paul Kennedy, a veterinarian at Pacific Coast Vet Hospital, said the injury could have been a few weeks old by the time Chase was brought in. He said the hospital treats two or three feral cats per year due to injury and a few more feral kittens that may be sick.
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St. Pierre said that Chase is currently recovering well from the injuries, and she has been raising money on Facebook to help cover the expenses of treatment. However, while Chase’s story has had a relatively happy ending, St. Pierre feels there is more that can be done in the city to help prevent incidents like this from happening again.
“Bang on the hood, and if that doesn’t work, try to pop the hood,” she said. “It takes an extra 15 seconds and it could save an animal’s life.”
Kennedy added that the clinic spays or neuters two to three feral cats per week through its work with the SPCA.
“Hopefully it will make a dent in the populations around town and the population problem around town,” he said.
matthew.allen@thenorthernview.com
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