Harley, the orange New Westminster tabby cruelly dunked in paint thinner last month, is dead.
After a relapse, he had to be put down, owner Jennifer Szoke said Tuesday.
“The scar tissue left his throat so swollen he wasn’t even able to swallow his own saliva,” she said. “He was always going to be sick and in and out of the hospital. That wouldn’t be any life for him.”
Harley and a second cat appear to have been deliberately dipped in paint thinner in early July.
Szoke found Harley several hours after the attack and immediately washed him with soap and water, then rushed him to the animal emergency. The cat’s tongue and throat were badly burned from trying to groom away the chemical.
“He was in Canada West [veterinary hospital in Vancouver] for two weeks, but he’s been in and out of the hospital for about six weeks,” said Szoke.
Canada West Dr. Teresa Cheng said Harley was very sick, but seemed to be making a recovery.
“We warned the owners that this outcome could occur, and unfortunately what we were worried about did happen,” she said of Harley’s case. “It’s horrific that somebody could do this to an innocent animal.”
New Westminster Animal Services have turned the investigation over to police.
Szoke said Harley’s relapse on Aug. 13 was heart-wrenching for her eight-year-old son, Nate Milanov.
Harley began to have trouble breathing and after another night at the hospital, the decision was made to euthanize him.
“[Nate] is devastated. He doesn’t understand why this happened,” said Szoke. “They were as close as a boy and a pet could be.”
Szoke, a single working mother, also faces an estimated $18,000 vet bill for Harley’s care.
Friends are helping to fundraise and have collected about $12,000 so far. Information on various events can be found on the Facebook group “Save Harley’s Roar”.
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