Advise for a cat that was injured by a firecracker?

Question

Some neigbor kids did something to one of the strays on our street. We think that they put a firecracker into the cat and lit it because we heard a mufled "pop" and then seen the cat run underneath the floor of an outdoor shed. We can hear it crying under there, it sounds really weird and hurt. Will it come out? If they did put it in its bum will it die?

@Jenna: We'll try to coax it out maybe shoot some water from the other side....I think it's in trouble and I'm really scared for it :-(

@Old Cat Lady: I'm not sure which kids were invloved......I wouldn't be able to tell for sure which did it???? Should I just call their mothers instead (I tried this before and she said "The kids are just bored")

@ Everyone: Thanks for the advice....i just called my brother and he's coming over to help...right now my neighbors son is trying to get under the shed......I'll keep you all updated as things go on...my neighbor suggests that we "smoke" it out of there. I'm not sure :-(

Oh boy. What a day :-( things have gotten worse. It turns out is was probably not a stray, but a neighbors cat named Muffin. Muffin was let out for just a bit, and hasn't come back which has never happened before. The cries from under the shed have grown silent...we hope she is just sleeping or maybe found a way out when we were inside on the phone. It turns out that the usual animal hotline is not manned on weekends, and as Lance suggested a moving company quoted $650 just to move the shed with heavy equipment, which is money we don't have right now.

Already rumors are on around the neighborhood that these "bully" kids did in fact put a firecracker in the cats bottom, an elderly neighbor seen it but is afraid of having his property vandalized if he points the finger at who did it. We've put some food around the shed, and have tried to see under it, but nothing yet......there's no way I'll be able to sleep tonite......

Answer 1

DO NOT "smoke it out" or spray it with water as it may be close to death!!! Call up a moving comapny and have them bring some equipment out to lift the shed up. And you should have this done ASAP to save the cat

Answer 2

Do you have some place that rescues injured animals in your town? Call them and tell them what happened. A fire cracker can leave a nasty hole. If the cat is crying it is bad as cats rarely show pain. I heard from a friend that works at a vets that a cat run over by a car had most bones broken and still purred and wanted head butts and not one sound of pain.

I would call the police, that is animal cruelty and seen in a totally different light than that "mother "thinks in". I doubt she would think that it was just a bored person who took her kids and forced them to allow a fire cracker to go off on them.

The cat needs vet care. A Animal shelter may have rescue measures- Good luck. Bonnie

Answer 3

Um, well you probably won't read this in time, but the more people the mores scared the cat will be.

The last thing you want to do is terrorize the baby more - such as spraying, smoking it out etc. You may get her out, but she may run off somewhere else and then you'll never find her.

There's a couple of different ways to coax out an injured cat. They all take time and patience. Talking to her and offering food is usually something that works, no matter how injured they are. Humane traps also work well in this type of situation.

They hid because they are scared. They need someone who is calm, patient and kind to get them out. Usually it's best to go underneath and get them out yourself, instead of trying to force her out. That is last resort.

If she is severely injured and losing blood then she may not be able to come out. Also keep that in mind - you still may have to go under and get her.

Answer 4

You need to get the cat out from under the shed somehow. Until you have done that you can't know the extent of it's injuries. At the very worst you could at least take the poor thing to the vet and have it put to sleep if the injury is too bad to recover.
Kids like that should be locked up.

Answer 5

OH DEAR GOD.

I hate to be vulgar, but they probably shoved it up the cat's rear end.
Can you get under the shed? Take a towel and wrap cat- if
you're confident it won't hurt you- probably in shock-
and get the poor thing to a vet.

If you can't get cat, the best thing is to put it out of its misery,
call the Humane Society or if you live in a smaller town you could call police, and REPORT THESE SICK BOYS while you're at it.

It's doing the "howl meow" probably, which usually means it's pretty hurt.

A cop will have a gun, and can at least end the suffering.

DO NOT LET THIS GO UNPUNISHED, boys who do this are
apt to grow up to be burglers, assault people (usually women) and even killers.

BLESS YOU for caring.

Answer 6

If no one reports these kids, then they do worse and worse things.

Personally I'd like to physically remove them from society with suitable application of force, but this is a job for the police, AND for the news media to get involved with. Call the local news and the animal shelter to get the word out about these kids. The more stink raised about this the better. If only to frighten them into stopping.

Answer 7

I'm praying that the firecracker didn't touch the animal and it's simply too scared to come out. Although it would simply stay quiet if that were the case.

All the advice I'd have given has been offered. Phone for expert help to trap it. Is there the equivalent to the RSPCA near you? They'll give it medical care too. In the UK, they'll work with police to find out what happened and prosecute if possible.

Please keep us informed.

Answer 8

Go to the vet no question but its might take awhile to get the cat out from its hiding place. The kids should be punished talk to there parents or tell them off. Hope the cat gets better : )

Answer 9

Call your local vet or animal rescue center immediately and have them come and collect and treat the cat. You can find your local animal rescue center at
www.petfinder.com
And, if you know who these kids are... REPORT THEM. Cruelty to animals rarely stops there! Kids like that will end up hurting people and children next so need to be dealt with now!

Answer 10

I am completely horrified to hear this. That poor innocent cat. Why are some people so depraved and sadistic? I hope that they are all brought to justice, but they probably wont be. What parent allows their child to be a monster like that? This is another example of why I keep my cats inside and safe. That poor cat. I am so sad.