Donations sought in helping severely burned cat

BOSTON, Mass. (WLNE) — The Massachusetts SPCA is asking for the public’s help in the treatment of a severely burned cat found in a grocery store parking lot.

An employee at the Roslindale Stop & Shop came across the cat on February 11, immediately calling Boston Animal Control, which instructed her to bring the cat to Angell Animal Medical Center’s 24-hour emergency room in Jamaica Plain.

The cat is estimated to be 10 months old, and has been named Dusty.

“We don’t know how Dusty was injured,” explained Dr. Rebecca Fellman, who is part of the team treating Dusty at the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center clinic.

“When it’s cold out, cats on the street often climb in wheel wells or under car hoods to stay warm, so it’s possible that Dusty was hurt when an engine was started by a driver who didn’t even know he was there.”

The medical team led by Dr. Fellman have been cleaning Dusty’s wounds and changing his bandages regularly hoping to get them to heal enough to close surgically.

Dusty’s faces a potentially months-long recovery, and may need to have a leg amputation.

His care is expected to cost up to $5,000, and anyone interesting him helping can go to mspca.org/dusty.

If no owners are identified, dusty will available for adoption once his treatment is complete.

Owners or anyone with any information on Dusty are asked to call the Boston Adoption Center at 617-522-5055.