Three legs, nine lives

Published 8:00 am Saturday, December 4, 2004

Willis the cat survives gunshot wounds, two months in wild.

Folks in need of a little inspiration this holiday season might consider the story of a homeless cat named Willis.

For months, Fletcher Bay resident Joanna Alexander fed the homeless fellow and provided him a bed on the porch.

In September, the cat disappeared, as strays are wont to do.

When he returned last week, poor Willis was a disaster.

Someone shot the cat in the forelegs, and the bullet tore through one leg and then through the other. Somehow, it recovered enough to make it home, the bone in one leg shattered and twisted backward, the other leg bent and hobbled.

“I wish he could tell us what happened to him,” Alexander said. “It’s just appalling. I don’t know how he made it home. The vet calls him a ‘miracle kitty.’ He’s never seen anything like it.”

On Wednesday, veterinarian Mark Swaney at Day Road Animal Hospital amputated the cat’s right leg and bandaged his left. X-rays show bits of shrapnel from the bullet in the cat’s legs.

“We don’t see much of this kind of thing on Bainbridge,” Swaney said. “It’s amazing he survived. How did he stay away from the dogs and coyotes? We’ll never know.

“He’s one tough cat.”

After what happened to Willis, Alexander is concerned there’s a gun-toting, cat-hater prowling around.

“There are about 300 people in this neighborhood, and last year three other cats disappeared,” another of which was hers, said Alexander, who reported the shooting to police. “It could be that they were shot. We haven’t seen any coyotes around here for a while.”

Alexander hopes someone who knows about the shooting will report it to police.

Willis returned last Sunday; Alexander heard him “calling for help” in her basement. He got past the chain-link fence in the yard, came in through the cat door, and hobbled downstairs.

His appearance was shocking. Besides his twisted legs, Willis had become skin and bones, losing about half of his 13-pound body weight while he was away.

Alexander rushed him to the emergency veterinary hospital in Poulsbo, where it was gently suggested that the cost of saving the stray might warrant putting him to sleep.

Alexander said she couldn’t bear to do that, after he had shown so much determination to live.

“I’m hoping his will to survive is an inspiration to people,” she said, cradling the green-eyed cat in the doctor’s office before taking him home Thursday.

“In two weeks or so, he’s going to get his stitches out, and then he’ll be ready for a normal life. We’ll make sure of that.”