Kelsey Scoular sees thousands of cats every year in her job as cat manager at the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) shelter in Calgary.
But very few of them are as emotionally difficult to deal with as one new arrival, a 6-week-old kitten she’s named Gio.
“The vets have suspected that he has been thrown from a vehicle,” Scoular said Thursday.
“It makes my stomach turn. It makes me really sad to know that there are people that don’t really care about the life of an animal.”
Gio was found Monday in a ditch alongside a highway near Milk River in southern Alberta, with injuries a vet said are consistent with those found in a cat thrown from a vehicle.
Adriana Lenz, the medical director at AARCS, said Gio’s injuries include a damaged jaw, fractured teeth and abrasions to his feet.
“All in all, he’s actually in really good shape, considering what he could have been,” Lenz said. “A lot of the time little guys like this aren’t as lucky.
“He’s definitely a fighter.”
Scoular is taking care of Gio at her home while he recovers.
“He has lots of cats at my house that he can play with, and learn to be a crazy kitten,” she said.
“He’s still a bit painful, so he’s on pain medication several times a day, and on antibiotics to curb any infection.”
If all goes well, Gio should be up for adoption within a month.