LIMA — A Lima police officer shot and killed a cat after it was attacked Tuesday.
Officers responded to a residence located in the 1000 block of North Union Street in Lima after a man called to report that his cat had been shot.
He told police officers that he believed his neighbor shot his cat, but couldn’t prove which neighbor, the Lima police report reads.
When officers Eric Mericle and Mark Frysinger arrived, the cat was found under a back porch.
“The cats back legs were injured, but did not appear to have been shot,” according to officer Eric Mericle’s report, and added that the cat appeared to have been attacked by another animal.
“The cat was not moving and had labored breathing,” the report reads.
Mericle said he suggested to the owner that he take the cat to a veterinarian to be euthanized. The man told Mericle that he had never taken the cat to a veterinarian before, and didn’t know where one was.
The owner granted Mericle permission to shoot his cat to “put it down,” Mericle said.
“Due to the animal’s injuries, I used my LPD issued Sig Sauger 9 mm to euthanize it,” the report reads.
“I really felt for him,” Mericle said. “It really broke my heart to do it.”
