Kitten Dyed in Purple Rescued in South Bay After Living as a Live Chew Toy
A small purple kitty in the South Bay is now looking forward to living a better and safe future after being dropped off at a Redwood City Shelter this week.
The cat — who has been called Smurf for his dark violet color — was colored as a very young kitty by a sort of undiluted garment dye which is proposed for clothing.
Vets found that the dye was more than just for show; it had been hiding other deep bite marks and abrasions . As Nine Lives Foundation vet Monica Rudiger recommended, these forms of injuries may be consistent with the practice of using very young kitties as live bait for dogs who have been trained to fight.
“In our neighborhood, cats are used as bait for pit bulls almost every day. It’s just terrifying,” Rudiger said. “That’s why you don’t give free kittens on strangers out on the internet — they use them for whatever they want and you don`t know that.”
In this case, Smurf was just plan lucky to find his way to safety.
“I don’t know what happened to him, but my best guess is that he was used as a chew toy. We have a cat with several abrasions and puncture wounds,” Rudiger said. “He can’t tell us what happened to him, but I’ve seen this before.”
This is just one random example of what can happen when you naively post “free to good home pet ads” on websites like Craigslist.
