It can be funny to imagine seeing a cat out on the streets with colored fur, but the reason behind this is nothing to laugh about.
When a grey cat with purple-colored paint on his paws was spotted wandering out on the streets, it was lucky that animal control was able to collect him before he could get into any further danger.
You see, although the cat was in perfect health, the purple permanent marker on his paws told a very different story.
Heart-breakingly, if you see a cat with colored paint on the white parts of their body, it’s likely that they have been marked out for bait in a dogfighting ring.
Most cats don’t escape this kind of thing alive – so if you ever spot a cat with colored markings on its fur, it should be rescued immediately.
Each cat is given a different color so that it’s easy for spectators who have placed bets to see which one passes away first.
The cat with purple paws (imaginatively named as Mr. Purple Paws) was incredibly lucky to survive such a feat. He was taken to Clewiston Animal Control in Florida before being transferred to Naples Cat Alliance later that night.
Knowing that this type of disgusting treatment towards animals is still occurring is absolutely devastating.
“Dog fighters use markers to color the white parts of cats and kittens so they can bet on which color will die first,” Megan Sorbara, one of the founders of Naples Cat Alliance, wrote on Facebook. “They are “color-coded” and then thrown to packs of dogs, while these sick barbarians place their bets. This is cruelty at its worst. It seems as Mr. Purple Paws was able to escape before he entered the ring.”
It was incredibly saddening for staff at the rescue shelter to see such clear evidence that dogfighting is still going on.
“I consider myself pretty hardened to a lot of stuff, I have dealt with a lot of injured, emaciated, neglected and abused animals,” Megan added, “but this one really got to me. By all accounts he looks good, good weight, nice coat but the purple paws tell the story.”
It’s a mystery how Mr. Purple Paws got away unscathed, and staff at the rescue shelter can only speculate.
“Somebody must have left a door open, or maybe he got away during transport while they’re going wherever they go to have these fights in the middle of the night,” Megan told The Dodo.
Hopefully, the others were able to get away too. It breaks our hearts to think of the animals who are trapped in situations like those, unable to escape.
Especially when the animals involved are so sweet and undeserving.
“He’s (Mr. Purple Paws’) just so sweet, rolling over on his back and giving head butts — just adorable,” Megan said. “He doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s Mr. Happy. He was playing with toys in his cage last night. You can just pick him up, carry him around on your shoulder — he likes to be held.”
Sick, barbaric, and brutal.
Naturally, people felt pretty strongly about Magan’s Facebook post, and many took to the comments to express their anger towards the humans who set up these horrific events.
“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.”
For Mr. Purple Paws, it’s onwards and upwards from this moment forward! Happily, just a week after he was taken to the shelter, he was adopted into a new forever home.
He’s had plenty of baths since he was rescued – and all but a tiny bit of purple marker remains on his fur. Hopefully, as the color on his fur fades, so do the memories.
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