WESTBROOK — Gorham police are investigating after an officer shot a stray cat he thought had rabies, but turned out to be healthy.
The cat is recovering at a Westbrook shelter from shattered front leg bones caused by pellets from the 16-gauge shotgun the officer used to shoot the cat last month.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the officer and an animal control officer responded to a neighborhood after getting reports that a cat bit and scratched a 7-year-old girl and appeared rabid.
After efforts to capture the feline failed, the officer fired.
The cat ran away but was caught four days later, and after a 10-day quarantine was determined to be rabies free.
Police are investigating to make sure proper protocol was followed.
Meanwhile, police are covering the cat’s shelter bills.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.