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, that cat needs your help.

Megan Sorbara, a cat rescue worker at Naples Cat Alliance, couldn’t believe what she saw when “Mr. Purple Paws” was brought to the shelter by Clewiston Animal Control.

Cruel Intentions: Cats Used as “Bait”

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.

Sobrara says, “Being in animal rescue, you hear and read about a lot of terrible things being done to poor innocent animals,” she wrote on Facebook.

“And then one day, the victim of one of these terrible things shows up at your door. 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.”

Sobrara explains, “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.”

Otherwise Healthy

Mr. Purple Paws is one lucky cat. He was able to escape the dog fighting before any harm came to him (other than his purple paws). When he arrived at the shelter, he seemed basically healthy. He was of normal weight, his coat was shiny, and he appeared uninjured.

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 of a cat. 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.

One week after Mr. Purple Paws arrived at the Naples Cat Alliance, he found his loving, furrever home. Despite the happy ending, many users on the internet were outraged at 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.”

Want more purrific news? Sign up for our Newsletter!

First Name *

Email *

Name

Sign me up!