THE RSPCA hopes someone will come forward with information to help track down the person responsible for an arrow attack on a cat.
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RSPCA inspector Beverly Holloway spent yesterday scouring retail outlets in Orange trying to identify the source of the arrow, which was surgically removed from the cat’s head by Orange veterinary surgeon Geoff Freeth on Friday.
The arrow tip was missing when the cat, Shadow, a family pet, was found.
“Geoff Freeth and I agree it was an arrow used for target shooting,” Ms Holloway said.
She said it was disappointing no one had come forward with information to assist the investigation.
Ms Holloway will also speak with police about the incident, the second reported arrow attack on a cat in Orange in the past year.
“But hopefully if we can keep this case out there in the media it may spark someone’s memory,” she said.
“Someone in the area might have seen people with these type of arrows over the last few weeks.”
Ms Holloway took the arrow to Bullets and Bits yesterday for identification as part of the investigation.
Store owner Ray Hawkins told Ms Holloway the arrow was the type sold in kit form with a target head.
“It is not the type of arrow head that would be used for hunting. It could have been unscrewed and replaced with another type,” he said.
“We are as keen as the RSPCA is to catch the person who has done this.”
Mr Hawkins hopes a Central Western Daily reader will recognise the arrow in the photograph and help with the investigation.
On the road to recovery, Shadow the cat was reunitied with its owners on Saturday afternoon.
The cat was discovered with the arrow in its head by a member of the public walking near the corner of Park and March Streets on Friday afternoon.
Mr Freeth said the owners of the cat would not necessarily have heard it in distress after it had been shot.
“Traditionally cats with an injury just go very quiet,” he said.
“In some ways it is like a human with a migraine. They just put their head down and stay quite still, that’s how they deal with the pain.”
Anyone with information about the use of bows and arrows in the Park Street area over the last 12 months should call 1300 CRUELTY.
janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au