BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Residents in the Clarks Run neighborhood of Boyle County are expressing concern after learning that a friendly neighborhood cat was fatally shot with a pellet gun.
"It still hurts when you find out something living has died, you know, it sucks, especially when someone shot it," said Pickett.
Dennis Pickett, who regularly interacted with the cat named Phoebe, is struggling to understand the cruel act.
"I don't understand. It just doesn't make sense to me, you know why anybody would want to shoot him," said Pickett.
The cat was known for being friendly and would often visit Pickett's property, playing with him, his children, and their pets.
"She wouldn't really ask for too much, you know, but she was a pretty cool cat," said Pickett.
The incident has left Pickett worried about the safety of his own pets.
"So it just also makes you worry about your cats too, you know, we're going to have to constantly worry about them," said Pickett.
According to Boyle County officials, at least two cats have been shot by pellet guns this week.
Disturbingly, Pickett reports this isn't the first shooting incident in his neighborhood. He's discovered damage to his own home that appears to be from similar weapons.
"Someone's obviously out here shooting something because I have a few windows that are broken on the side of my house and you can see where they are it's BB or pellet marks," said Pickett.
The broken windows in his children's rooms have heightened his concerns for his family's safety.
"As being as a parent, I'd rather have it happen to me than my child, you know what I mean," said Pickett.
Pickett expressed concern that whoever is responsible could potentially escalate their behavior.
"If you can hurt a cat, or kill a cat, you can potentially harm a person," said Pickett.
