8 lives remain for Cutie the cat after she was shot 7 times with a pellet gun

After being shot by a pellet gun and going through surgery, Cutie the cat came home. 

"The kids kept her name Cutie that she came with because she's the cutest cat," Natasha Crook said. "She's friendly with everybody, she likes to snuggle, sleep on the blankets, she doesn't hurt anything, she's the most gentle cat ever."

What started as an oversight as the family of five left home one morning, ended in Cutie almost being killed, and the family facing a bill totalling thousands of dollars to save her.

Crook said Cutie will turn four in January and has been living with the family since being adopted as a kitten from Hearts To Homes Feline Rescue & Sanctuary in Brantford, Ont.

Crook said Cutie, an indoor cat, escaped from the family's home in Simcoe, Ont. through an unlocked door around 9 a.m. on Oct. 2. After two days of extensive search and a lot of worry, one of their two dogs — a golden retriever — found her in bushes at a park nearby.

"Right away we could tell she was injured because her eye was very milky-white looking [and] it looked very infected. We thought maybe she got into a fight with another cat," Crook told CBC Hamilton.

After a closer examination, Crook said she saw what looked like a piece of metal sticking out of her back, and the family brought the cat to Brant Norfolk Veterinary Clinic.

"They took her in right away and did X-rays, and they came back out and the doctor told me … they had found seven pellets inside of her, and that one had gone right through her eye, and she would have to lose the eye [but] they would do what they could to save her," Crook said.

The pellets "had missed her spine and they had missed her brain," Crook said she was told by the doctor.

Cutie the cat was given pain medication and stabilized overnight before being transferred to Shellard Lane Animal Hospital the following morning, where she underwent surgery, Crook said.

She said doctors were able to successfully remove Cutie's right eye and four or the pellets. The remaining three pellets could not be removed because of a risk of additional health issues and damage.

Two of the remaining pellets are in her skull while the third is in her chest.

Crook said the family was referred to the Ontario Vet Clinic in Guelph, and the team there, after seeing Cutie, said it was better to leave the three pellets inside her.

According to Crook, getting Cutie the medical care that she needs "was very costly," and the family could not have afforded it without the help of the community.