Two pet owners were left devastated to discover the heartbreaking past their rescue kitten endured prior to adoption, after thinking she was merely showing signs of aging.
Last year, cat owner Chelsea, of Denver, Colorado, noticed that her "old lady cat" named Hari appeared to be slowing down and was struggling to keep up with her feline siblings. Hari was rescued from an animal shelter in September 2017 by Chelsea's husband, a few years before they got together.
Chelsea told Newsweek that not much was known about Hari at the time, and all they knew was that she was "pretty small and skinny" when she was found.
It's thought that Hari is around 10 years old now, so it's understandable that she isn't moving so quickly and has stiffness in her joints.
"We noticed that Hari was limping up the stairs when we called her for dinner, and she was slower," Chelsea said. "It was mostly her front right leg, and we originally thought it was a sprain, so she was put on pain medication, but after a week, she still wasn't better. So, we started to entertain the idea that it was her age."
Chelsea wanted to get her checked over by the vet, just to be sure but nothing could have prepared her for the X-ray scan results.
"Hari originally had an X-ray of her leg, and the vets thought maybe a bone part had broken off or a bone spur had grown there, but they weren't sure, so they wanted more imaging," Chelsea said. "When they did, they found that she had two BB gun pellets, one in her right back leg, the other in her chest.
"A CT scan also found that the reason she was limping on her front right leg is because it's shorter than her left leg. This is due to the fact her right leg has an old fracture that didn't heal, and they also found fractures in her back legs from before she was adopted."
Following this revelation, Chelsea was asked if she knew about Hari's past, but she simply started to cry. She had no idea what her rescue cat had gone through until that point and hated the thought of her experiencing such pain.
Chelsea said: "I cried all the way home. I was so sad because Hari is the sweetest cat, she is so gentle and welcoming. I don't know how anyone could harm any creature that way. She would have been under 2 when it happened, so why would anyone want to shoot a kitten?"
For now, Hari is on pain medication to help with her knees and spine, and Chelsea is considering physical therapy. Her owners are also doing everything they can to make her comfortable at home, with heated beds, a catio in the sun, and some cat steps to help her climb up onto furniture.
Chelsea shared the discovery about her cat's past on Reddit (posting as user u/Gogomagickitten) and it horrified internet users.
Despite what she's gone through, Hari is still "one of the sweetest cats ever" and isn't letting it get her down. Chelsea jokes that she can still dominate her younger female siblings and loves pestering her owner when he's working from home.
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