Within a week, two cats with an arrow in their bodies were found on Metiuslaan in Eindhoven. Their owners react shocked and are afraid that this will not stop there. “Who walks around here with a gun? And does it only stick to animals?” Yolanda wonders. Owner Frans is still missing two cats and fears that they may have been fatally injured.
On Sunday evening, November 9, Rudy is shot, an arrow pierces his stomach. Six days later, a hundred meters away, Piglet is found with an arrow next to his eye. Both animals survive the attack with a crossbow, but the fear among cat owners in the Eindhoven neighborhood is well established.
Who walks around here with a gun?
“A week ago I called my cat Rudy,” says Yolanda. “He came stumbling up the stairs and I saw something was stuck up in his body.” That turned out to be a large arrow from a crossbow. Yolanda reflexively pulled out the arrow. “He went in and was shivering on the couch.” The vet shows that the intestine is damaged and a life-saving operation follows.
“Things are going pretty well now, but he’s not in the best mood,” says Yolanda. “Rudy is grumpy because he has to stay indoors and wears a special suit.” She continues: “I find it very intense and it makes me feel unsafe. Who is walking around here with a weapon? And does it stick to animals? This person clearly needs help.”
Other cats fatally affected?
Piglet is now walking outside again. On Monday morning, owner Frans will go outside with his cat for the first time since the shooting. “I regularly walk around the neighborhood with my three cats.”
Two days earlier, his cat was sitting in front of the front door with an arrow next to its eye. A second cat was also shot; an arrow was later found near his shed. “When I look at that arrow, it must have been a really big crossbow.”
“Fortunately, no vital organs were hit in Piglet’s case, but it could have ended very differently,” says Frans. “I’m speechless, especially because it’s not the first time. It just goes on. Someone practices on animals and when he gets the hang of it, he might shoot for something bigger.”
Several cats are missing in the neighborhood, including two belonging to Frans. “There is a good chance that one of those cats was fatally injured. Now you are thinking about that.” While Frans says that, he looks around. “Maybe the shooter is watching us now. That’s a bad feeling. You become suspicious; it could be anyone.”
Knorretje is now doing well again. “He’s alive again. The other cat is spookedwho walks timidly across the street. He is clearly still afraid of something he has experienced.”
‘Keep cats indoors for now’
Both Yolanda and Frans indicate that there are many cats walking around in the neighborhood. “I have three ex-stray cats,” says Yolanda. “I can imagine that some people find that annoying, for example because of cat feces in the garden. But that is of course no reason to start shooting.”
Veterinarian Stijn Peters of the Eindhoven Animal Hospital advises cat owners on Metiuslaan to keep their animals indoors for the time being. If an animal is hit by a crossbow bolt, Peters says it is better not to remove it yourself. “If you pull the arrow out, you can cause even more damage inside. These arrows often have barbs, which can cause more damage.”
