If You See a Cat With Purple Paws, Take it and Find Help Immediately
While many cat owners do all kinds of things to pamper their feline, painting their paws purple isn’t one of them.
If you ever see a cat with purple paws, take it and find help IMMEDIATELY.
Keep reading to uncover the ugly truth behind purple paws.
Cruel Intentions
Megan Sorbara, a cat rescuer at Naples Cat Alliance, couldn’t believe her eyes when “Mr. Purple Paws” was brought to the shelter by Clewiston Animal Control.
Here’s the ugly truth: Cats with purple paws are used in dog fighting as “bait.”
Their paws are painted different colors, usually with a permanent marker, so that the spectators can bet on which cat will die first.
“Being in animal rescue, you hear and read about a lot of terrible things being done to poor innocent animals,” Sorbara wrote on Facebook.
“I consider myself pretty hardened to a lot of stuff. I have dealt with a lot of injured, emaciated, neglected and abused animals but this one really got to me,” explained Sorbara.
Sorbara was shocked when the victim of one of these gruesome crimes appeared at the shelter.
Sorbara explained, “Dog fighters use markers to color the white parts of cats and kittens so they can bet on which color will die first. They are ‘color-coded’ and then thrown to packs of dogs, while these sick barbarians place their bets. This is cruelty at its worst.”
This was what was going to happen to Mr. Purple if he had not been spotted in time and rescued.
Safe at Last
Mr. Purple Paws is one lucky cat!
He was able to escape the his abusers before any harm came to him (other than his purple paws).
When he arrived at the shelter, he seemed healthy.
His coat was shiny, he had a healthy weight, and didn’t have any injuries.
Sobrara says, ” I can only hope more were able to get away but my real hope is that the perpetrators of this heinous ‘sport’ be found and prosecuted.”
Despite everything he’s been through, Mr. Purple paws was a real sweetheart.
He was friendly, gentle, and playful!
Mr. Purple Paws Finds a Furrever Home
The same day that animal control found Mr. Purple Paws, he was transferred to the shelter, cleaned up, and put up for adoption.
After a bath, the purple on his paws faded significantly, but the traces of his violent past were still there.
Mr. Purple Paws’s story touched everyone’s hearts.
One week after he arrived at the Naples Cat Alliance, he found his loving, furrever home.
The family that adopted him knew he needed an extra loving home.
They were committed to giving him the life he had always deserved.
Hopefully they renamed him!
The Real Message
Mr. Purple Paws had a happy ending, but other cats and kittens in his position suffer a cruel fate.
When people on the internet read his story, they were outraged by this brutal practice and the treatment of the cats who are bait.
“Anyone involved with any kind of animal fighting needs to be locked up for the rest of their lives,” one user wrote.
“They enjoy the blood-sport of watching animals in pain and suffering and being absolutely terrified and struggling for their lives. How dare they hurt these poor innocent animals! This is sick, barbaric, and brutal.”
Animal rescuers everywhere hope Mr. Purple Paws’s story brings awareness to how cats are abused by dog fighters and how to put a stop to it.
Keep reading to find out what YOU can do to prevent cats and kittens from ending up in the wrong hands.
How to Prevent Cats Being Used as Bait
There are steps you can take to make sure cats and kittens like Mr. Purple Paws never have to suffer from this fate.
- NEVER give away free cats/kittens. ALWAYS charge a rehoming fee of at least $20 for kittens you adopt out.
- ALWAYS report suspicious behavior to law enforcement and your local animal welfare units. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
- Participate in TNR programs (trap neuter return). You can volunteer, spread awareness, fundraise, or donate. The goal is to spay/neuter as many cats as possible to stop the vicious cycle of overpopulation and prevent helpless kittens from ending up in the wrong hands.
- Spay/neuter adoptable cats/kittens before rehoming them. You cannot trust people to do this on their own.
- Ask for vet references from people who are interested in adopting your cats/kittens.
- Spay/neuter your own cats! Cats that are not spayed/neutered are more likely to run away.
- Keep your cats indoors and encourage others to do the same.
- Be a community leader. Organize groups that pressure local governments to pass legislation that cracks down on animal cruelty with heavier punishment.
- Take it to social media. Share this article to educate people on the cruelty that happens in their own communities. Everyone has a moral responsibility to do this.
Kate Skilton is a professional writer and a lifelong owner and lover of cats. She currently lives with her kitty, Rogue, who runs the show.
25 Replies to “If You See a Cat With Purple Paws, Take it and Find Help Immediately”
It just makes me so angry and sick to my heart to have PEOPLE who hurts INNOCENT ANIMALS like dogs and cats in any country. Its just SICKENING for man to hurt INNOCENT ANIMALS that just wants love and AFFECTION and PROTECTION against them .i just wish to god that ANIMALS could talk .
Makes me so sick at my stomach and almost pass out when I think of it😳🥺😩😥
I think we should use those nasty humans as bait for a cure for Corona
I believe we should euthanized those humans
Disgraceful – the perpetrators of these murderous crimes should be prosecuted,
Is there a share available?
They are sadists and should be executed in sight
Amen. Throw those humans to lions
Find these bloodthirsty murderers and lock them up for the rest of their natural lives!!! Oh yes and throw the key away!!!
Throw them into a lion’s den
This is an outrage!!! My only solace is in knowing that when their judgment day arrives, these heartless monsters will be sent straight to hell to endure the kind of pain that they’ve inflicted on these poor, innocent creatures of God!!
Amen! They will burn in Hell. God commands us to care for his creatures not abuse or kill them. The lord is on his return
I am so happy when one gets saved but I really hate it when they give them a name that keeps that awful memory alive.. like it’s something funny to be remembered.
the people in dog fighting should be put in a cage with lions who have not been fed ..lets see if they get out ,,please post this
People who prey on innocent animals for blood thirsty sport in turn should be marked with different colors and thrown into a cage with demented murderers while others bet which one will be killed first. Turn about is fair play, right????
Amen!
Those murderers of those precious cats n kittens should be severely punished – full extent of the law plus 100 lashes. Then I bet this would stop!!!!!
this is just so horrible and heartbreaking. I so pray and hope that these terrible people who are using these poor innocent cats and kittens as bait are quickly found and persecuted. I am so very happy this kitty was found and is now adopted into a loving home.
How about we find the monsters who do this, paint their hands different colors, and throw them to a pack of lions so we can bet on who gets torn to pieces first.
The so called people that commit this kind of crime should be thrown to the same pack of dogs they were going to throw these cats and kittens too
People that do this to poor cats and kittens, should be fed to the Nile crocodiles 🐊, see if they like it!
Thank you for sharing I will share on my Facebook and let all my friends aware of it so they can help spread the word and help save those poor animal
And so often the dogs are stigmatized and killed and the dog fighters get little or nothing. I say just shoot them. They are perverse and loathsome beings. I have heard about putting colors on cats used for bait I think. I want to ask what is wrong with these people but is there really an adequate answer. I am glad he got a new name because I have a hard time with animals named from horrid circumstances they come from as well as naming them after the devil or other evil things. I am happy that one cat got out and will have the life he deserves. I wish the dog fighters would get what they deserve as well.
This is horrible! I hate animal abuse & just hope those who do this to our precious animals, is found & posecuted. It is now a crime punishable by law, thank heavens. It takes a sick mind to mistreat any animal.
OMG how sad that a human could use these cats as bait. How could you even watch as these poor defenseless cats fight for their lives. These people need to be brought to justice for their actions. Maybe take them and throw them for bait.
They need to be used as bait internet dog fighting smear meat on them and let the dogs attack the idiots who do this to innocent animals let the researchers use them as test subjects to die as in untested drugs make it painful as possible