New home sought for stray cat who was trapped and shot twice

Kayse Aschenbrenner, the Humane Society's director of animal welfare, holds a cat now named Bullet on Wednesday, June 8, 2011. The 2-year old survived two bullet wounds and was trapped near a home in North lawrence. Bullet has been recuperating at the shelter for a couple weeks and is looking for a new home.

The cat’s name is now Bullet.

And staff members at the Lawrence Humane Society hope he has a new home soon after the 2-year-old cat was rescued by animal control officers from a trap in northern Lawrence. He had been shot twice.

“He is such a survivor. He’s an amazing cat,” said Kayse Aschenbrenner, the Humane Society’s director of animal welfare. “You would never guess he went through such a traumatic ordeal.”

Jimmy R. Wilkins, 73, faces a case in Lawrence Municipal Court on charges of animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in the city limits, City Prosecutor Jerry Little said.

Sgt. Matt Sarna, a Lawrence police spokesman, said police assisted animal control officers May 29 in the 100 block of Michigan Street when officers found the injured cat inside a trap on the side of a residence. A witness had alleged he heard a neighbor shoot what sounded like a gun earlier in the day and observed the cat in the trap.

The cat, who is black with little spots of white and believed to be a stray, was taken to the Humane Society and later taken to a veterinary clinic. 

Police eventually wrote Wilkins a citation, Little said, and he has a hearing scheduled for June 28.

Aschenbrenner said the veterinarian was able to remove one bullet from the cat, and staff members hoped Bullet could be adopted in the next month if someone shows interest.

Aschenbrenner thought Bullet had at one time served as someone’s pet but had been on the streets for awhile, although she said he has shown good social tendencies during his time in the shelter.