Editor’s note: A couple of the photos below might be too much for some readers. We included them, though, to show not only what some fool did to a lovely creature but also to show the extent of Little John’s recovery.
The world of Monday Miracles can be a curious and emotionally topsy-turvy place. Some cases leave you feeling dismayed with the world — like when you come across a cat who’s been chained up and abandoned (while happening to have a mohawk haircut).
Other cases can leave you feeling inspired — like when you read about a cat’s owner helping him on a road to recovery through innovative use of 3D printing technology.
And then some cases just leave you feeling angry — like the seemingly endless series of incidents in which some of our least useful humans have attacked cats with weapons.
Little John, this week’s Monday Miracle, falls into this last category. He was shot with an arrow — which, as you may be aware, unfortunately seems to be something that’s happening more and more these days.
According to the Humane Society of Missouri, Little John liked to roam around the neighborhood of Wildwood in St. Louis County. He would often take overnight refuge in barns. It was in one of these temporary abodes that a property owner found Little John in a wounded state. Closer inspection showed he’d been shot with an arrow through his left leg.
After bringing him to the Humane Society, he was put under the auspices of Dr. Mark Wright.
“The wound was infected and potentially deadly,” he told the local KSDK news outlet. “If he’d had been turned 90 degrees the wrong direction, the arrow would have gone right through his chest, hit him right in the heart, and killed him instantly.”
Fortunately, after further inspection, it was discovered that Little John — who by this point had been given a fittingly Robin Hood-inspired name by the Humane Society — had escaped any nerve or bone damage.
Showing a resolute nature, Little John soon went on to recover from his ordeal just fine. Talking about the cat’s rehabilitation, Wright said, “He can certainly jump up on chairs and jump up on counters and do normal cat things.”
All things being well, Little John is now up for adoption via the Humane Society. While he’s been advised to stick to an indoor lifestyle from now on, the organization also suggests that, at first, he might require outdoor access to satisfy his love of the natural world.
In less stellar news, it seems that his human perpetrator is still at large, and a $2,500 reward doesn’t appear to have prompted much in the way of information about this odious person’s whereabouts. Still, at least Little John’s moving on to safer pastures.
Check out the Humane Society of Missouri’s Facebook page for updates on Little John’s travels.
Read more Monday Miracles:
- Fury the Kitten, Abandoned and Helpless, Now Rolls Strong
- Meet Lobstah, the Cat Who Will Claw for Your Affections
- Smurf the Kitten Survived a Dye Job and Life as a Chew Toy
About the author: Phillip Mlynar writes about cats, music, food, and sometimes a mix of all three. He considers himself the world’s foremost expert on rappers’ cats.
