Cat Survives Despite Being Shot Over Dozen Times

FOWLERVILLE, Mich. (CBS Detroit) - Their cat went missing for almost two days and when he returned the family was horrified.

The family of a young cat sharing a harrowing tale of torture and abuse -- looking for answers and hoping for the recovery of their beloved pet.

Darrick Tinsely believes someone trapped and tortured his family's one-year-old cat named Cass, shooting him more than a dozen times with a BB gun -  shooting him in the mouth and his genitalia.

Tinsely says Cass had been shot through the tail with a broadhead blowgun dart - which was still embedded when the cat returned to their home in Alan's Mobile Home Park in Fowlerville.

Tinsely says Cass is a friendly cat who instinctively knows the bus schedule for the kids in the neighborhood and is loved by almost everyone.

"He's very friendly, there are people in the park who take him in -- he's a loved cat -- I've lived here eight years ... we found him in the rain as a kitten," he says.

WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGE OF ABUSED CAT

He tells CBS Detroit that Cass needs to have an operation to remove his left eye and might have to undergo another to remove BBs from his nasal passage.

"There are so many people who are angry about it ... if it's a child - they need help, and if it's an adult they need to be locked-up," he says.

Tinsely says that until this incident Cass was both an indoor and outdoor cat -- now he'll be an indoor cat only.

A GoFundMe account has raised over $4,000 of the $5,000 goal to address vet bills for his recovery. [Find link here] He says if there is additional money raised he'll donate a lot of that to the animal community.

Tinsely says he's doing "very well under the circumstances but the vet bills add up fast."

An investigation is expected to begin this week.  If you have any information about this incident you are asked to contact the Humane Society - Report Cruelty or call the Cruelty Hotline at (313) 872-3401.