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Cat Claws Her Way Back After Shooting In Modesto

MODESTO (CBS13) — If cats have nine lives, one in Modesto may be down to eight.

"If she had gone another day the bruising would have advanced to the point where it would have been irreparable," said Amy Smith with Saving Lives Animal Rescue.

Five-month-old Ninja is back on her feet. The black cat is lucky to be alive after being shot. She was spotted in the bushes at a Modesto park.

ninja
Ninja the cat after her surgery.

"They think she will walk again. She might be a little gimpy but they are pretty sure she will get feeling back and she'll walk," Smith said. "And the kitten was dragging her rear end and we thought she had been hit by a car."

A volunteer with Saving Lives Animal Rescue was feeding a feral cat colony there and rushed Ninja to the vet where she underwent emergency surgery to remove a bullet lodged in a muscle next to her spine.

"It brushed over the top of her spine. There was a huge blood clot on the spinal cord and the spinal cord was bruised," she said.

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The rescue organization says her surgery and aftercare will cost close to $5,000. They are struggling to pay for it all and stick with their mission.

A stealth Ninja clawing her way back after a bullet nearly ended her life.

Standiford Veterinary Center in Modesto is caring for her and she will be spayed, vaccinated and microchipped before being put up for adoption.

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