LONDON, ENGLAND - A criminal investigation has been launched after a cat was found with a wire wrapped around his neck, leaving him with what are being called “horrific and barbaric” injuries.
The cat, who is approximately four years old, was rushed to
Harmsworth Animal Hospital (RSPCA) for treatment after he was found on St Margarets Avenue in Whetstone in Barnet on Saturday.
Vets believe poor Domino had been suffering from these horrific injuries for up to two months before he was rescued.
RSPCA inspectors said the cat must have been in considerable pain for some time, and launched an appeal for information about how he came by his injuries.
Inspector Natalie Bartle said: “When I first saw Domino the first thing that struck me was the horrific gaping wound round his neck, it was so deep. It was just awful.”
“I could not feel a collar through his coat but I felt something there, and that is when I found the wire. It looked like it had been tied there deliberately.”
Barbaric: Domino’s injuries are thought to have been deliberately inflicted
“Poor Domino was very grumpy which was understandable as he must of been in agony for at least one or even two months.”
She said the cut to Domino’s neck was the most serious, describing it as an “embedding wound” she had ever seen on a feline, adding that his injuries appeared to be deliberately inflicted.
She said: “The smell from the wound was so overwhelming that I felt sick. I have never seen an embedding wound as serious as this on a cat. It was so upsetting.”
“I rushed him to RSPCA Harmsworth and he was immediately sedated due to the seriousness of his injury.”
“I assisted the vet in shaving the cat’s neck and that is when we the double looped rusty piece of wire all around his head. The wire had been twisted firmly around his head.”
“It appears that this poor cat didn’t get tangled in the wire but that it was a deliberate act of barbaric cruelty that someone has inflicted on him.”
“The nature of the wound showed this poor cat had been suffering for a long of time. When he is up to it poor Domino is going to need a skin graft operation as the wound is so extensive.”
Painful: the wire that was removed from Domino’s neck
The RSPCA is also appealing for Domino’s original owner(s) to come forward.
Inspector Bartle said: “We would really like to find the owner of this cat as someone must be missing him.
“We would also appeal for anyone with information about who may have done this awful act to this poor cat to contact us immediately on the RSPCA Inspectorate Appeal Line on 0300 123 8018.”
We here at The Best Cat Page send a shout-out to all who were involved with Domino’s rescue!