Cat found in North Huntingdon with zip ties around body recovering at Frankie's Friends in New Kensington

A cat found with zip ties wrapped around its body is recovering after surgery at Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue in New Kensington.

Dr. Becky Morrow, medical director of Frankie’s Friends, called it a case of animal cruelty.

“There’s no good reason to do that,” she said. “At best, it was a kid doing something stupid; at worst, it was something malicious.”

The 3-year-old male, orange and weighing about 8 pounds, showed up in a colony of about 10 feral cats a woman cares for in the North Huntingdon area. It was not part of the colony and had no tags, collar or microchip to identify it, Morrow said. It’s not known if the cat had been a pet or was a stray.

The cat was caught and arrived at Frankie’s Friends on Tuesday.

Two white plastic zip ties had been hooked together and encircled the cat’s chest. They were not very tight but, from the cat’s movement, they had sawed through the skin on its back, causing a deep wound.

“It’s horrifying,” said Rachelle Ebel, assistant manager of Frankie’s Friends. “I can’t imagine the fear and the pain he was in.”

Morrow made a special trip to care for the cat Tuesday evening, and some of the clinic team stayed to help.

“It was obvious this needed to be dealt with right away,” Morrow said.

The cat was given anesthetic, the zip ties were cut off and the wound was closed. The cat also was neutered while it was under, a customary procedure for Frankie’s Friends.

The cat is expected to make a full recovery and is otherwise healthy but is suffering from trauma.

“It’s petrified. It’s very scared,” Ebel said. “We’re going to try to show it love and kindness. It obviously needs it.”

The cat, named Ranga, will be ready for adoption in about two weeks.

“We’ll care for him until he’s ready for a happy life. He obviously deserves one,” Ebel said. “He’s welcome to stay here until that happens.”

Morrow said the zip ties were intentionally put on the cat, as there is no way they could have slipped over its head and shoulders.

“This is something we would like to know more about, and, if anybody has information, we’d appreciate if they’d share it with us,” Morrow said.

Anyone with information about the cat is asked to contact Frankie’s Friends at 724-889-7011, by email at frankies friendscatrescue@gmail.com or through its Facebook page.

Donations for the cat’s care are being accepted.