Daycare cat shot with hunting pellet in Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - A beloved community cat in Beverly Hills is recovering after being shot with a pellet gun. 

Sneezy was a feral cat who wandered into the lives of Bryan and Heather Durren last summer. They've since come to love the little guy, and got him his vaccines and had him neutered and microchipped. 

Heather runs an in-home daycare and the kids there, too, have come to love Sneezy. One day, though, one of the parents noticed Sneezy was limping and didn't seem like himself. They took the cat to an emergency vet -- and learned he had been shot. He had a .177 hunting pellet embedded in his leg. 

"I was really sad but it really hit home when the kids in my daycare kept asking for Sneezy and wanted to make him cards and were just, daily, asking what happened to him and where he went," Heather says. "That really made me realize how much a part of our family (he has become)."

Sneezy had to have emergency surgery and has had some follow-up care. He's doing well and is in a cast, but there's still always the risk of infection. 

"You immediately feel enraged that somebody would do this to your animal, yet, there's very little recourse in terms of what you can do about it. But, the one thing we did find, is just by creating this page on social media we can raise awareness for it and maybe it will be a deterrent for other people," Bryan says. 

They created a Facebook page to give updates about Sneezy, and to raise awareness about feral cats and animal torture laws in Michigan. A GoFundMe is also raising funds to help with Sneezy's vet bills, and for an anti-cruelty animal charity.