Oakland cat recovering after being shot at by air rifle

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The search is on in the East Bay for the person who opened fire on a cat.

Cabo the cat is a little woozy, on painkillers at Oakland's Broadway pet hospital. He's recovering after being shot by what vets believe was a high-powered air rifle.

"They could be using cats as target practice or something," Cabo's owner said.

Cabo's owner first noticed something was wrong when she found her cat hiding under the house.

"His character was a little off and today I was rubbing his stomach and I noticed a hole about that big. And you could look right into him," Cabo's owner said.

This happened along Brooklyn and Hanvoer Avenue, near Lake Merrit. Dr. Roger Schulze says unfortunately, this type of injury is not unusual.

"We see BBs in cats and dogs all the time on X-rays," Schulze said.

He took an X-ray to make sure the pellet didn't hit any bones or major arteries. It appears it went through the shoulder and clean out the armpit.

"I'm scared because I like letting my cats outside. I like that they can sniff around the garden and walk around. And now I can't let them out anymore because I wouldn't want them to get shot," Cabo's owner said.

Cabo's owner plans to file a police report. As for Cabo, "He's going to do just fine," said Veterinarian Dr. Roger Schulze.