Pellet lodged in neck of Miami County cat; shooter faces cruelty charge

BETHEL TWP., Miami County — A cat was shot with a pellet gun, and now the suspected shooter is facing felony animal cruelty charges.

“It’s scary to me. It’s scary a human can be like that,” said Dan Spivey, owner of Ted, a white and gray tabby.

Ted and his littermate Tank, both a little more than a year old, two older cats and a dog all share a home with the Spiveys in the 9300 block of Wildcat Road.

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Dan Spivey on Tuesday noticed Ted wander to the back of the yard where there is a shed, where he likes to hunt mice. But when the Spiveys saw Ted again late that night, he was covered in blood.

“He looked pitiful,” Dan Spivey said.

Although the Spiveys thought their cat was attacked by a coyote, a trip to a Huber Heights veterinarian proved otherwise.

“An X-Ray showed there was a pellet in his neck area,” Spivey said, and you can still see its entry point to the side of his eye.

“The cat did not die, but the pellet went through the cat’s nose and lodged into its neck,” according to a Miami County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies said they determined who shot the cat; however, his identity has not yet been released. The shooter is expected to face felony animal cruelty charges, according to the report.

“I think that’s some sign of serious, very very serious mental problems,” Spivey said. “There’s just no justification for injuring some animal for no reason like that.”

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