JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- David Leonard holds on to his cat Suzy much more closely these days. On Tuesday, Leonard called Suzy to come eat, but the cat wouldn't move.
"I came over to him and there was a wet spot on his side. I looked down and said oh my goodness, there's a hole in my cat. I freaked out," said Leonard.
Suzy was shot by what's believed to be a bb gun.
Leonard said, "Through and through, all the way through his back, middle and came out the other side."
Suzy survived, but Shawn Mahoney's daughter's cat didn't have the same fate.
"I couldn't understand why someone would ever do something like this to a defenseless pet," said Mahoney.
Mahoney now holds on to Midnight's collar. The family had the cat for four years. They now have to bury the cat after it was shot by a bb gun Friday. The lifeless body was found in a nearby field.
"There's no reason to shoot someone's cat. They're not feral cats. They're being taken care of. I just don't understand," said Mahoney.
According to neighbors, it's been going on for at least a month in the area around Mayport Landing Drive.
Police reports show an officer canvassed the area Friday afternoon and spoke to several neighbors who reported their cats had been shot during the past few days or weeks. The number of cats injured or killed could be at least 20.
"They're like your own. Day in and day out, they're there and they have unconditional love. Those pets have unconditional love," said Mahoney.
Another of Mahoney's cats was shot, but is okay. He hopes no other neighbors have to go through the experience of losing a pet.
"We want it to stop," he said.
Everyone agrees, they'll keep their cats inside now until the person shooting neighborhood cats is caught.
First Coast News