Just as he does every day, last Wednesday, Officer Jake Appel responded to a routine injured animal call. But what he discovered sitting under a truck at the 500 block of Center Street in Sioux City, Iowa, was anything but routine.
He was faced with a cat that "had a three and a half inch nail right in the middle of her head," Appel tells PEOPLEPets.com. "I didn't think anyone in this city was that mean. I didn't think the cat was going to survive either."
Though she must have been in unimaginable pain, the cat, later dubbed Grace, acted like any other stray, Appel recalls. "She was purring and wagging her tail," he says. "She just had a nail in her head."
He immediately took the cat to headquarters, where an X-ray showed the nail entered between her eyes and was thrust nearly all the way through her skull (see photo above). Cindy Rarrat of Sioux City Animal Control says the nail was driven into the cat's head with a nail gun.
"It was horrific," Rarrat tells PEOPLEPets.com. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I just lost it. I was in tears. This one tugged at my heart."
Last Friday, a veterinarian was able to safely remove the nail, and Rarrat says that if it had been just a millimeter in another direction, the cat probably would have died.
The near-death experience behind her, good-spirited Grace is now recovering at an animal hospital where she'll remain for about a week while doctors monitor her recovery. She suffered a damaged left eye, which may not be able to be saved, but despite all that, Rarrat says the little feline is doing amazingly well–purring, eating, and walking around.
The investigation into who may have done this is still ongoing, and Rarrat says the culprit faces criminal charges and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. So far, Animal Control has received several adoption offers from inquiring cat-lovers. (Contact Animal Control at 712-279-6170 to find out more.)
"It's just unimaginable that somebody even thought about doing this," Rarrat says. "I have no explanation for how this cat survived the way she did with the injuries that she suffered ... that falls into the hands of God."
Anyone with information should call Sioux City Police Crimestoppers at 712-258-TIPS. If the information provided leads to an arrest and conviction, there will be a cash reward.
See more amazing survivors on PEOPLEPets.com:
Abandoned Dog Digs Deep to Give Birth in Quarry
Puppies Sealed in Duffle Bag Are Now 'Bundles of Energy'
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