Pet Cat Shot and Killed, Phoenixville Family Mourns

A Phoenixville family is missing a member after a pet cat was shot and killed.

According to Jennifer Romano, a South Street resident, her 8-year-old Seal Lynx Point Birman cat died on Wednesday after a pellet struck him. Now, Romano’s three children are mourning the loss, and she’d like to know who was responsible for shooting the family pet.

“I want answers,” Romano said. “If someone is shooting guns in the neighborhood, that’s not OK.”

The cat, named Gambit, is an indoor-outdoor cat along with his sister Missy. On Wednesday morning, Romano noticed that Gambit was acting strange. She packed Gambit up and headed off to the vet, thinking the cat was sick. The veterinarian took an X-ray and found a surprising result.

“She said, you’re not going to believe this but there a pellet lodged in his lungs,” Romano said. “You could see the pellet bright as day on the X-ray.”

Most likely the cat was shot on Tuesday, and Romano said it likely happened during the daylight hours. When Gambit was inside on Tuesday, he seemed fine, but when he returned Wednesday he was struggling to breathe.

Romano, with her 13-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow went to the Phoenixville Police Station to report the shooting, leaving Gambit in the care of the veterinarian.

“While we were in there we got the report that the cat had died,” Romano said.

She had to deliver the news to her younger children, who were waiting in the lobby at the police station.

“My three kids are very upset and crying,” Romano said. “They’ve been wondering how people can be so cruel and shoot an animal.”

The family got the pair of cats when they were about a year old, Romano said, and the pair is very close. They sleep together each day on a chair on the porch, and the remaining female cat seems lost without her brother.

“She’s been hiding under my daughter’s bed,” Romano said. “They’ve been together since they were babies.”

Romano contacted the Chester County SPCA, and she was told that investigations are left up to the police unless the SPCA is asked to intervene. Phoenixville Police Chief William Mossman confirmed that, stating that the SPCA does not have a contract with the borough and likely would not get involved in this sort of investigation in Phoenixville.

While Romano has an idea of who may have harmed the cat, she said she worried that the police may not be able to prove who did the shooting. She plans to go to neighbors to warn them about the incident.

“It’s very sad to think a person would do this,” Romano said.

The shooting also sparked concern about the safety of children who play in the neighborhood.

“If someone is shooting a pellet gun, it’s dangerous because our kids play outside,” Romano said.

She hopes the person responsible will be found, and now she’s left to console the kids and pay off the $300 to $500 in veterinary bills.

According to Mossman, animal cruelty cases are rare in the borough. 

"It's probably one every five years or so where somebody actually does something very cruel like this," he said. 

In the past, Mossman said offenders have been caught and charged for animal cruelty. Officers are investigating the shooting and hope to find the person responsible. 

"It's going to be really tough without a witness," Mossman said.

In addition to potential animal cruelty charges, the chief said there is also an ordinance that prohibits discharging firearms anywhere in the borough limits. He said the department takes crimes against animals very seriously. 

"That's somebody's pet," he said. 

If you have information on the shooting, which occurred on South Street near , contact Phoenixville Police at 610-933-1180.