A tiny purple kitty in the South Bay is now looking forward to living a better future after being dropped off at a Redwood City Shelter.
The cat — who has been nicknamed Smurf for his dark violet color — was colored as a very young cat by a sort of undiluted garment dye which is intended for clothing.
Vets found that the dye was more than just for show; it had been masking other abrasions and deep bite marks. As Nine Lives Foundation vet Monica Rudiger suggested, these types of injuries may be consistent with the practice of using very young kittens as live bait for dogs who have been trained to fight.
“In our area, cats are used as bait for pit bulls every day. It’s just horrifying,” Rudiger said. “That’s why you don’t offer free kittens out on the internet — they use them for whatever they want.”
In this case, Smurf was just plan lucky to find his way to safety.
“I don’t know what happened to him, but my best guess is that he was used as a chew toy. We have a cat with multiple puncture wounds and abrasions,” Rudiger said. “He can’t tell us what happened to him, but I’ve seen this before.”
This is just one random example of what can happen when you naively post “free to good home pet ads” on websites like Craigslist.
