JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville teenager said she believes the neighborhood cats she has been caring for are being targeted with BB gun pellets.
Sejla Hotilovac shared pictures with Action News Jax. They show different cats with injuries to their ears, back, and head at the Grove at Deerwood and the Elliot apartment complexes.
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Hotilovac said she and her mom started using the trap, neuter, and return, or TNR method, on cats in their Baymeadows neighborhood five years ago.
Since then, the teen tells me they have been able to reduce the feral cat population in their community from 200 to fewer than a dozen.
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“I understand not everybody likes these cats, but it doesn’t give you the right to go out and harm them because these cats, they have a special place in our hearts,” she said.
She said she tried to file a report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, but because she and her neighbors haven’t been able to bring any evidence to the department, she said JSO told her there wasn’t anything they could do.
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Jacksonville Humane Society’s Lindsay Layendecker said the city’s Animal Care and Protective Services division investigates claims of animal abuse.
“That’s definitely what we recommend for suspected cases of animal cruelty,” Layendecker said.
The city of Jacksonville’s government website lists the department’s phone number and a link for people to report violations or other animal-related issues.
For now, Hotilovac said she is encouraging her neighbors to keep an eye out for the suspected culprit so they can be held responsible.
Photos: Jacksonville teen caring for feral cats suspects they’ve been hit with BB gun pellets
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