MILTON, Del. - A cat named "Firefly" is lucky to be alive. His family says he was shot with a pellet gun outside of his Milton home on May 5th and that a vet is now trying to save his leg from being amputated.
The Hayes family says their cat Firefly usually hangs out in their backyard on Neptune Road and that he comes in every night. When he didn't come in last Wednesday, they knew something was wrong. Now they're left devastated, wondering who would've shot their beloved pet and why.
Addie Hayes found Firefly on a stack of hay in their barn Thursday morning.
"I just stared at him for a moment and tried to pick him up and he just sat there and looked at me for a moment like 'I'm hurt,'" Addie says,
Firefly's family took him to the vet where they learned he had multiple fractures to his back femur bone and had lost a lot of bone.
"He would never attack any animal unless it was a mouse because he is a mouser," Leslie says.
The family has a lot of animals and so do their neighbors, which is why Leslie says they have no lead on a suspect or a motive.
"We're just trying to help them not do this again," Leslie says. "We want to find out who did this, who is the culprit."
The Late Breaking Delaware page on Facebook shared Leslie's Facebook post and announced a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.
Firefly's family is more concerned about saving his leg. The first vet they took him to said it needed to be amputated. Dr. Mike Metzler at Four Paws Animal Hospital in Seaford put the rod in his leg to try to save it and has Firefly on antibiotics to prevent infection from the pellet.
"Firefly will live with this pin for at least three months and we will recheck x-rays usually every 10 to 14 days and hopefully if the leg knits and Firefly's activity is restricted, we save a leg and he has a leg to walk on," Dr. Metzler says. "If it doesn't, we'll take the leg off at a later date."
Dr. Metzler says he sees gunshot wounds in cats at least once a month and the Hayes family wants to end that trend. Leslie called The Delaware Office of Animal Welfare who says the investigation is open and ongoing and that no suspects have been identified at this time, but that anyone with information can call them at 302-255-4646.
"After this, not knowing who did this and if they're still out there, we're going to try our hardest to keep him inside from now on," Leslie says.
Leslie says anyone with information as to who could have shot Firefly can message her on Facebook at Leslie Christine Hayes or message the Late Breaking Delaware Facebook page.