Please be warned – this post contains details about animal cruelty that may upset some readers.

In one of the most brutal cold spells of the year, a team of People for Animals (PFA) volunteers began the difficult task of catching Lizzie, an injured feral cat in Regina.

It started on Grey Cup Sunday, when two members of PFA’s feral cat team spotted Lizzie on their weekly feeding route. It looked like she had wire sticking out of her body and was in distress. Being a feral cat, Lizzie avoided human contact so it was difficult to properly assess her welfare.

The volunteers spent many days and countless hours trying to trap Lizzie; they knew she needed immediate vet care or it would only be a matter of time before infection would set in and Lizzie would die alone out in the cold.

After two weeks in the harshest winter conditions, a team of volunteers were finally able to catch Lizzie. Their initial happiness and relief quickly turned to shock, horror and anger when they saw her condition up close.

Someone had intentionally and viciously pierced Lizzie’s abdomen with wire, which went through one side of her small body and out the other. The abusers then wrapped the wire around the outside of her body. It was a brutal wound.

The team worked fast, rushing Lizzie to see Dr. Bath at the Northgate AnimalHospital.

Dr. Bath performed emergency surgery to remove the wire from Lizzie’s body. Miraculously, the wire missed her major organs. Still, the surgery was intense and Lizzie’s future is uncertain.

Currently Lizzie has a severe infection and several drains in place to help the healing process. The veterinarian suspects whoever did this to Lizzie did so to “hang” her up. For now, Lizzie will remain at the clinic to recover and be monitored.

As a feral cat, Lizzie isn’t adoptable. The transition from the clinic’s recovery area to a life back on the streets may prove a difficult one, especially in the harsh Saskatchewan winter.

It’s clear from the ordeal that Lizzie is a fighter. She is one tough cat who hasn’t given up. While Lizzie fights for her life, PFA will keep fighting too.

PFA continues the challenging, and often heart-wrenching, work of caring for Regina’s stray and feral cat population. Currently, PFA manages 30 colonies in Regina which are home to approximately 150 cats. Managing the colonies includes feeding and watering all 30 colonies every single day. It also includes monitoring the health of each colony, including providing shelter and operating a trap-neuter-release program.

If you want to help, PFA could use your support. You can donate via PayPal or by cheque to help cover Lizzie’s medical expenses specifically, or to cover expenses for the 130 cats and kittens currently in PFA foster care.

If you’re unable to donate, consider volunteering with PFA. Fostering, feral feeding, fundraising – there is a lot you can do to help make sure that cats like Lizzie continue to receive care and attention.

Multiple photos of Lizzie’s injuries were taken to document her horrible treatment and were submitted to Animal Protection Services when PFA filed an animal cruelty report on Dec. 9. If you have any information about Lizzie’s situation, or any acts of animal cruelty, please contact the Regina Humane Society’s Animal Protection Services at 306-777-7700.

To view photos of Lizzie's injuries, please click here.

Be warned – these photos are graphic and may be disturbing to some readers.