Sherbert, a stray cat who lives in South Bend, became quite ell-known after someone posted a graphic picture of his injuries on Facebook’s South Bend Lost and Found Pets.
It wasn’t long before he was rescued by a few good Samaritans.
Rebecca Wallick remembers seeing Sherbert walking around during a heavy snowfall at the McDonald’s on West Western Avenue in South Bend. Wallick wanted to help Sherbert stay warm.
“So we got a shelter,” said Rebecca Wallick. “We set up a shelter. They started using it right away.”
A few weeks later, Wallick saw a post on Facebook of Sherbert who had been severely injured. She called the The Meow Mission of South Bend. The organization spays and neuters stray cats it finds then releases them.
“A couple of volunteers and I set up to work in shifts and someone was basically here around the clock with a couple of different kinds of traps and different kinds of bait. We just knew we had to stay on him until we could get him trapped,” said Wallick.
After three days, they finally captured Sherbert. The group quickly figured out just how he got hurt.
“He probably crawled into a car engine to stay warm,” said Kylie Carter. “Because it’s been so cold. And when the engine turned on that is when he got his leg and tail injured.”
It’s very common for cats during cold weather to crawl up inside engines of vehicles to stay warm. So before starting your car, be sure to blow your horn or bang on your hood. This does prevent cats from being injured like Sherbert.
Sherbert had his tail and foot amputated because his injuries were very severe. While it may take a few months to make a full recovery, Carter hopes his story serves as a sobering reminder.
“Sherbert is kind of representative of thousands of cats and this isn’t the first time Meow Mission has had an amputated tail or leg. We do this stuff all the time,” said Carter.
Sherbert will be put up for adoption once he heals from his injuries. Meow Mission says it’s received several donations to put toward his surgery so far. Even someone from way out in Scotland donated just the morning.