A 3-year-old Siamese mix named Stitch is recovering at her owners home in Clarksville, Tenn., after she was shot by an arrow from a compound bow.
The man accused of shooting Stitch, neighbor Joseph Gonzalez, was cited with animal cruelty. Gonzalez reportedly told Clarksville police that Stitch was chasing his pet chicken. So far, Gonzalez has declined to comment to the media.
The arrow penetrated the cats body on one side near her shoulders, just above her spine and lodged in her upper torso after piercing the opposite side of her body.
Stitchs owner, Jason Martin, took Stitch to a 24-hour veterinarian's office, where the tabby was sedated and the arrow was removed. A drainage tube was inserted in the wound, and the cat was prescribed a round of antibiotics and painkillers.
The arrow grazed across her back and fractured one of the felines vertebrae. If it had been about a quarter-inch or lower, it could have embedded in her spine or lungs, or it could have broken her back, according to Martin.
Gonzalez is scheduled to appear June 9 in General Sessions court.
Posted: May 20, 2006, 5:00 a.m. EST