‘Disgust and horror’: Alleged case of cat abuse caught on camera in Regina

A Regina woman’s cat underwent surgery on Tuesday, after an alleged case of abuse, which the owner believes was captured on her neighbour’s security camera.

While the security footage is hard to make out, two individuals can be seen across the street from the owner of the cat, Bronwyn Clifford’s house, around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

“Two people, one went around and the one who (was on the fence) picked her up and was holding her over the side of the fence and you can’t see what they did to her, just that they had her,” Clifford said.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Clifford says she realized her cat, Mushu, was injured.

“My dad let her in at 5 a.m. and he was half asleep… and didn’t notice the blood coming out of her mouth. She came into my bed and I woke up realizing there was blood everywhere,” Clifford said.

On Sunday, Clifford said she took Mushu to the vet, thinking she got into a fight with another cat.

But after learning the extent of her injuries and checking her neighbours security camera, Clifford believes her cat was attacked by two people.

“(I feel) just like disgust and horror that someone would do that,” Clifford said.

“Half her tongue had been cut off… it was like sliced off on the one side, so they stitched her up and booked her for surgery Tuesday.”

Global News spoke with the veterinarian who says Mushu had several teeth removed during surgery and said the injuries are consistent with some type of trauma, not related to a cat fight.

While the Regina Human Society says cases like this are unfortunate, owners are encouraged to keep their pets indoors.

“If you’re off your property and your pet is not in control, it will be considered at large,” said Bill Thorn, RHS public relations director.

“We encourage people not to do that, it certainly keeps (your pet) safer if they’re at home.”

In 2019, Thorn said Animal Protection Services had 4,500 calls for service. Of those, 610 were related to animal abuse or neglect.

“If you do the math it’s one every day or two that we’re getting a call,” Thorn said. “So, it is a problem out there and we do try and follow up on every call that we do get, in fact we will.”

As for Clifford, she hopes whoever is responsible is caught. A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover Mushu’s vet bills, which total more than $2,000.

“It’s nice to see support and a shared disgust that someone could even do that,” Clifford said.

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