Stranger's 'sickening' act leaves cat owner with $4000 vet bill
Perth owner Alixandra has had to make special arrangements to pay for the hefty bill.
A distraught pet owner has been left with a $4000 vet bill after her cat was shot with an arrow outside her Perth home last week.
The white feline named Apollo escaped the Banksia Grove property on Friday afternoon and was later found by its owner Alixandra with the arrow still lodged inside the animal, RSPCA WA told Yahoo News Australia.
"Scared" and shaken, Alixandra rushed her cat to the vet where it required emergency surgery to fix the significant and horrifying injury to its abdomen. The arrow miraculously missed all organs and with plenty of rest, Apollo is expected to make a full recovery.
However, the young woman is thousands of dollars out of pocket because of the "sickening" act carried out by a stranger.
"$4000 backed up in vet bills is taking a toll considering the cost of living itself. I’ve had to cancel a lot of things in order to pay for bills," she told Perth Now.
The incident was immediately reported to the RSPCA and WA Police. Police could not confirm the details to Yahoo.
"It’s sickening to hear about a family pet being targeted this way," RSPCA WA said. "We’d like to remind the community that it’s illegal to intentionally harm an animal."
The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in jail.
Alixandra said the stranger could have simply "patted him," but instead "my poor animal is injured badly and he could’ve been killed".
Aussie pet owners spending thousands on pets
The Perth woman is one of many pet owners who have been forced into debt over pricey vet bills with sudden or unexpected medical care required for their pets. A Sydney couple recently racked up a vet bill of $37,000 to save their Maltese dog after they noticed its legs become "wobbly".
Despite the rising cost of living forcing many Aussies to tighten their spending habits, a recent report from Finder suggests many Aussies are willing to spend thousands on their animals. Sixty-three per cent of dog owners and 60 per cent of cat owners consider their pet part of the family according to a survey by Animal Medicines Australia.
On average, dog owners are willing to spend over $3,500 toward medical bills before they would consider putting their dog down, with 17 per cent of respondents in the national survey admitting they would cough up more than $10,000.
Cat owners are willing to spend $1,000 less compared to dogs, content with copping medical fees of over $2,600 before considering parting ways. One Sydney woman started a GoFundMe page to cover over $20,000 of vet bills to keep her feline companion.
RSPCA WA encourages pet owners to remain vigilant and "keep their cats safely contained to their property where possible" to avoid any unwanted harm.
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