SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — A few days ago, 4-year-old Cheeto the cat was living his best life chasing zip ties and exploring his neighborhood. Now, he's no longer the independent cat he was a short time ago.
Cheeto is recovering from jaw surgery after he was shot Thursday while outside on one of his neighborhood adventures.
"He has this feeding tube which is where we give him all of his food, water and medicine because he can't eat or drink on his own," Mitch Talmage said.
Talmage said when he took Cheeto to the vet, he was told his furry best friend had a broken jaw. Shortly thereafter, the x-ray revealed a bullet inside Cheeto.
"We're pretty sure it's a .22 gauge — not a BB, not a pellet, but an actual bullet. He was shot in the face, it hit his jaw and the vet said it looked like a bomb went off in his mouth," Talmage said. "The bullet is still inside of him right now."
Talmage's mom filed a police report with the South Jordan Police Department. The Talmages hope someone has information that can give them answers to who did this and why.
"I haven't cried over anything the last three years, but this completely broke me," Talmage said.
Based on Cheeto's GPS tracker, Mitch believes the shooting happened near their South Jordan home either near Bingham Creek Trail or near LochAwe Drive.
"He crossed the road and went into an area he normally doesn't go to, and the tracker shows that from there, he made a very quick beeline to our house," Talmage explained.
Although Cheeto still has a long recovery ahead, Mitch is already planning a way Cheeto will be able to enjoy the outdoors again safely.
"We're going to build him a special outdoor fenced-in area — people call them 'cat-ios' — so we're going to build him a very big cat-io where he can roam around and be safe," Talmage said. "We don't feel comfortable letting him go back out there anymore."
If you have any information about the shooting, you're encouraged to contact the South Jordan Police Department.
