A young cat is fighting for its life after it was found with a broken pelvis and severe head trauma in a Glendale trash bin on Monday.
Erica Coomber, Alberta Animal Services’ director of operations, said they received a call from a resident who found the cat inside a zipped up backpack in a garbage can on late Monday afternoon.
Officers picked up the cat and rushed it to the centre where the cat was stabilized for the night. On Tuesday morning, he was taken to the Dog and Cat Hospital to undergo full testing.
“Kitty is not doing very well right now,” said Coomber. “He might recover from this. At this point because of the lack of oxygen, the suffocation and possible head injury, the cat is blind. It is really hard for us to tell if he has further neurological issues like being able to walk. Right now it is a waiting game.”
The cat is believed to be about two years old.
Coomber said it is difficult to say how long he was in the bag but she believes he was injured before he was stuffed in the bag.
“If he was in there for five more minutes, he would be dead,” said Coomber. “We got him out just in time. He could have been in there for 10 minutes. He was put in a green grocery bag and stuffed in a backpack and zipped up. There was still air coming in there but obviously not enough.”
Coomber said they are asking the public for their assistance finding the person who did this. They do not have any leads at this time. Once they have all the reports from the vet, they will report it to Alberta SPCA, which investigates animal abuse cases.
“It is awful,” said Coomber. “I have seen a lot of horrific things in my time working in animal control or at a shelter. We have pulled cats in backpacks out of rivers. But this one is very horrific.”
If you have any information about this case, please contact Alberta Animal Services at 403-347-2388.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com