POCATELLO — A local woman is asking for the public’s help after she says her pet cat was almost killed recently when someone in her neighborhood shot it with a pellet gun.

Brenda May, who lives on the corner of Northgate Drive and Pole Line Road across the street from the FBI data center, says she has had to take her 3-year-old house cat, Opal, to the veterinarian twice in the past several months to remove the fragments of pointed pellet gun ammunition embedded in the animal’s flesh.

“The pellet the vet removed this last time had a red pointed tip that’s designed to penetrate and cause the pellet to mushroom,” May said. “This last time the pellet lodged itself near her vertebrae and caused her to lose a bunch of blood. Those pellets are designed to kill.”

Opal was most recently shot on Oct. 23 while May and her husband were out of town visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming, she said. Her stepdaughter was house sitting when she noticed Opal lying on the couch with blood pooling around her and a trail of blood leading to her resting spot.

“My stepdaughter called me freaking out wondering what she should do with the cat and if we could pay for her vet bills if she were to take him in,” May said. “The first vet didn’t want to take her saying she probably wouldn’t survive but the vet at Alpine Animal Hospital worked on her and did an amazing job. They understood how important she was to us and saved her life.”

May’s husband Edward had two heart attacks in March, she said, adding that Opal was essentially his support animal following the frightening ordeal. After forming such a close bond, May said she couldn’t let Opal down when she needed them the most.

“We just couldn’t let her die, she is family,” May said. “Opal was very intuitive to the fact that my husband was going through something after his heart attacks and she hung on him. I guess you could say she was, and is, quite a support animal for him and helps keep him calm.”

May says Opal was first shot with pointed pellet ammunition a few months ago near the end of summer. Opal was shot in the cheek below the eye during the first incident, with the pellet entering and exiting on the same side. In total, May has spent over $1,200 in vet bills to have the pellets removed

May says she has contacted the police as well as Pocatello Animal Control; however, she was told not much could be done about the situation unless someone witnesses her cat being shot.

Pocatello police confirmed on Thursday the incident has been reported to them and an investigation into the circumstances remains ongoing.

“I know the police have bigger things to worry about but this is still a horrible, terrible and very expensive situation for us,” May said.

Opal has long been a cat that goes outside, May says, which has made trying to keep the animal inside a difficult task.

“The cat comes in to eat, sleep and hang out for a while but she loves to be outside, May said. “She will scream, cry and even start peeing in the house if you don’t let her out. You could think that we could just keep her in the house but once the cat gets outside you can’t just take that away from her. We are afraid to let her out of the house though for fear of her being shot again.”

May is hoping that one of her neighbors might have more information about her cat being shot and is asking for the public’s help in holding whomever may be responsible accountable.

“It would be so great to get the public to help us out on this,” May said. “We would be grateful and I know Opal would be too, considering she has already used two of her nine lives.”

Anyone who might have information about May’s cat being shot is encouraged to contact the Pocatello Police Department at 208-234-6100.